


Chang Wufei and The Hidden Staircase

by tzigane, Zaganthi (Caffiends)



Series: 13x5 Multiverse [3]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, Graphic Description, Gundam Pilots with Dayjobs, Gunshot Wounds, Hidden Staircase, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Post-Eve Wars (Gundam Wing), Preventers (Gundam Wing), Stalking, Subspace, Therapy, Treize is a creepy person, lighter than the warnings make it seem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 84,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27928006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tzigane/pseuds/tzigane, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caffiends/pseuds/Zaganthi
Summary: Wufei's apartment was very peaceful, had been the best apartment in the building until the cheap landlord had moved someone into the attic. It wasn’t that the soundproofing wasn’t sufficient, it was that he could occasionally hear noise overhead. The ceiling creaked like there was a treadmill up there, or he could hear the bath run sometimes. Pacing on occasion. Never too late, never to the point where he wanted to bang the ceiling with a broom.At least no one was having enthusiastic, bed banging sex above him.
Relationships: Chang Wufei & Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei/Treize Khushrenada
Series: 13x5 Multiverse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944529
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

On early fall days, Chang Wufei liked to bike to work. It was a twenty minute walk to headquarters, but it was a five minute bike ride and he got to feel the breeze on his face. If he still felt like it at the end of the day, he'd bypass his apartment and head to the king's garden to the north and stay outside; the view was on a bit of a hill overlooking the harbor and it was relaxing to have that much space to see.

Coasting past on a bike kept him out of the bustle of people in the afternoons, too. The mornings were quiet, though, a few other folks heading to jobs like his, morning bird students at the cafes loitering and taking in the first breaths of the day.

He treasured that feeling of being alone in a vast city, almost drifting with it as he coasted past the empty farmers market stalls, the cafe where he sometimes got an iced bun or a raspberry tart.

He swore he knew the man sitting outside with a coffee and a book, but it was impossible. If there was one thing Chang Wufei knew with absolute certainty, it was that Treize Khushrenada was dead.

The world, of course, swore that it knew better. There had been sightings as far away as New Kansas in something called a Krispy Kreme.

He still wasn't sure what that actually amounted to, or why they seemed to equate it with Pelvis something or other, but there it was. It was just something that happened -- a glimpse out of the corner of his eyes, and he'd see someone he knew full well was gone. Someone would move a certain way and he'd be sure it was Meiran; a flit of black hair and a white shirt was Mu Tsu.

So apparently a man in a royal blue pullover with greying ginger hair drinking a cup of tea made him think he'd seen Treize Khushrenada.

He was probably a college professor or some professional who had unfortunate taste in colors and was just going about his day never knowing that it struck a passerby hard in the chest, a feeling of familiarity that unsettled him as he kept peddling down the street. It just said he missed people, that even in his wide open spaces, sometimes he wished.

But the dead didn't rise and they certainly didn't sit outside of Tak. 

It stuck in the back of his mind as he slowed his pace, letting the bike carry him to the guard shack where he fumbled for his ID. "Preventer Mercury," the guard greeted, taking the ID when he finally got it loose and handed it to him. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

It was, actually, bright and comfortable without a single cloud in the sky.

He nodded at the small talk, and coasted the rest of the way into the headquarters. There were pockets of green-spaces between the wide corridors that connected the buildings. It was a maze, but he had quickly mastered it, and now he knew where to park his bike to get up to the Preventer's offices with the minimum of effort.

And slowly, the majestic feeling of being alone in the wide world started to ebb back because there were more people and life and activity again. "Hey, man!" He didn't jump when the arm slung around his shoulder because honestly, he just expected it these days. Death, taxes, Duo.

"Good morning, Maxwell."

"Good morning!" That was singsong, impossibly bright for that early in the day, and he was grinning in that sideways sly way that made Wufei's spine crawl a little. "Wait until you check your email, hot stuff."

Oh, god. "What do you know?" If he was narrow-eyed and sounded a little mean, well. It was with good cause. Ever since Preventer Copper had decided that he was, in her words, _just the prettiest goddamned thing I have seen in a while_ , he'd been watching out for this kind of thing. Duo, of course, delighted in it.

"You've got a new analyst assigned to you. Iron, been supporting Noin for about six months now. I've also been banned from talking to Copper. I mean, Anne didn't use the words 'banned' but strongly discouraged in light of, well. Her wanting to tap my partner's ass. But now you can safely go into the kitchen without being accosted." And then he grinned like the lunatic he absolutely was.

For some reason, Wufei found himself smirking back at him, and it felt almost feral. "Like that will keep you out of trouble." It wouldn't, but at least he wouldn't feel so awkward in his day to day interactions. Preventer Copper was a nice enough person, but Wufei didn't often feel that way about people. He could count on one hand the number of people who had actually held his interest like that with fingers left over, and anyone who chased him automatically made him want to run away from them. There was a delicate balance between _I'm interested_ and _I want you_ , and anyone who wanted a chance had to hit it on the mark.

Very few people ever had.

"She's a good looking woman, even if you find her creepy and stalkerish." Duo tugged at him briefly, and then let go. Their desks were across from each other in the stupid open floor plan, but they had enough monitors and screens open if it was a planning kind of day that he could go hours without seeing Duo's face despite sitting not three feet from him.

It didn't stop Duo from talking, though. "Anyway, there's imagery intel outside of Kuala Lumpur marked up from Iron, which is boring. It looks like industrial stuff, factories."

"I'll take a look at it." Duo was pretty good at being able to tell when things were dangerous. He had a bizarre second sense when it came to things that would end in death, kind of like Wufei had when it came to things that would end in explosions. There was a reason that they were on the same team -- both of them were good at things that ended badly. That or the active PTSD just made them numb to it. Who could say? But they were a good team, and together had helped to thwart some of the more robust threats against peace.

One would think that the world should have exhausted itself with two massive wars in as many years, but no, no, the urge to fight and plot and scheme ran hard in the world. It kept people like him and Duo from sitting peacefully on their hands. Sometimes he wondered what the world, his world, would have looked like if he'd been allowed to have peace, real peace. If he had found it wherever it was supposed to live in his chest.

What a world it would have been.

He settled behind his computer, fucked with his login and fingerprint recognition, lived through a reboot that went on for just long enough for him to think about getting a cup of coffee, and then he was in.

Pulling up his email came first, and he looked at the information from Iron. The analysts were three floors down and they rarely even ran into one another, Copper aside. She came up to the fifth floor break room just to see Wufei twitch, he was pretty sure.

Iron was to the point, laying out all of the appropriate data in a way that was easily comprehensible and actually impressive. Wufei would take a wait and see attitude to it, but it looked as if he would be at least as good as Copper, who'd have been great if it weren't for all of the uncomfortable flirting.

Coming up three flights of stairs under the claim that the big pot of coffee that was made by whoever drained the last pot was better when it was two flights down to the actual canteen where the coffee was hand-poured by an actual trained drinks maker had just been a blatant lie.

"It's not bad, huh? I mean, eh, I'm not feeling the lead, but the work's nice," Duo said through their back-to-back wall of screens.

"Clear and concise," Wufei agreed. "Hopefully it will work out a bit better." And he wouldn't have to run away whenever the slightest glance of the new data analyst came around because that felt a little like cowardice. He berated himself for it, but then he did it the next time and the one after that, so he'd just gotten accustomed to that internal battle.

It was a relief to think that he might eventually stop looking over his shoulder in the office space, as there would be no Copper to run from. It wasn't that he wanted her fired; he simply wanted her to leave him alone, which shouldn't have been so hard except for the allure apparently of a man telling her no.

Some people were just always going to be beyond his ken.

The rest of the day went easily enough. No Copper in the break room when he went. Duo was mostly quiet except when he muttered to himself over whatever he was working on, and lunch was one of the canteen's better attempts. By the time he made it to the end of the day, he was more than ready to go home and maybe call for takeaway because tonight felt like that kind of night.

Not every day was exciting. Most days weren't; they usually had one or two interesting things a month as a team, and then perhaps one or two bad things a year per team. He was hoping they didn't ever have another Mariemaia army level event again.

And if they did, he hoped that he stayed on the right side of it.

He had an evening of not much to look forward to. A few katas in his wide living room, perhaps a movie. Perhaps music, eating dinner and a book. His apartment was very peaceful. It had been the best apartment in the building until the cheap landlord had moved someone into the attic. It wasn't that the soundproofing wasn't sufficient, it was that he could occasionally hear noise overhead. The ceiling creaked like there was a treadmill up there, or he could hear the bath run sometimes. Pacing on occasion. Never too late, never to the point where he wanted to bang the ceiling with a broom. At least no one was having enthusiastic bed banging sex above him. That would be irritating in multiple ways that he couldn't even begin to define, and he considered all of it as he cycled his way home, picking up Italian on the way because why not?

By the time he made it back and chained his bike into place in the area designated, he chose the stairs over the elevator, climbing up them quickly so that he was a little out of breath by the time he reached his apartment. He keyed himself in and dropped the takeaway onto the kitchen table before heading to his bedroom to change out of his uniform, glancing around out of habit before realizing something was not quite right.

He was sure he'd left his watch charger on the other side of his bedside stand.

It was a weird moment, standing there, looking at it, wondering if he was just keyed up because of Copper, because the day hadn't been terribly engaging and he'd had some time for his mind to wander first. He snapped his watch into place on the charger, and grabbed a tank top.

When he went back into the living room, he flicked on the display and wandered into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. By the time he made it back to the couch, the news was blathering on in the background. It was a fairly comforting way to end the day, all things told, and the pasta was delicious. He found it comforting; not familiar, but warming and well made, with a suggestion of too much cracked pepper and garlic that suited his taste buds. Above him he could hear the soft steady thump thump thump, very faintly, of the neighbor above him running on the treadmill. Wufei turned the news up a volume level, drowning it out easily.

That was what his life had become, and he didn't know if he could have predicted that at any point. Alone in an apartment eating pasta, watching the news streams.

If anyone had told him that two decades ago, he'd have laughed. And why shouldn't he have? He was on the verge of getting married. He'd had a family and a boyfriend who got along well with his future wife. They'd gone on dates together, for fuck's sake. Twenty years ago, he'd have thought anyone who suggested _this_ was his future had to be crazy or jealous.

Or perhaps cruel.

The job had meaning. He was contributing to the world, and his wife and his boyfriend were gone. There wasn't even a grave for him to visit, though he kept a small altar arranged on a side table by one of the windows. When the days were right, he placed white flowers as offerings amongst the water and candles.

And then there was _him_.

Wufei still didn't know how it had happened, didn't know how to parse any of it. He tried not to think about it most days, but he'd seen the man outside the cafe this morning, and that had been enough to prompt the morbid wallow he seemed to be having, he supposed. It was just something that had come to pass, in and around him, and it was so strange. Most of the time, he didn't meet someone and think, _that one, that's the one, I want that one._ Normally he spent time getting to know someone before he reached that moment of clarity.

With him, it had just been true. 

He didn't need to do that to himself. It was unnecessary; it had come out of nowhere, after all, while the man had held a sword blade to his neck and smiled softly at him. There'd been no mockery; mockery would have been easier. There was understanding and an odd shining pride that hadn't made sense until well over a year and a half later, when it was well past too late. 

Maybe the easiest person to want was the one he never had a chance with and never could. Maybe that was why it had persisted in his head.

Maybe that was why he was seeing him outside of cafes.

 _"And yet another sighting of General Treize Khushrenada today, this time in New Port City, the capital of Sanc Kingdom. People say that they saw the deceased general sitting at a sidewalk cafe drinking coffee and eating breakfast,"_ the news anchor announced, almost as if she knew what was on his mind.

 _"For a dead man, he's pretty well traveled,"_ the co-anchor declared. _"Wasn't he seen just last week in New Kansas?"_

 _"And in Rome walking into the Vatican three days before that,"_ came the chuckle. _"Well, all we can say is that we hope we get to see as many amazing places after we die, hm?"_

He could imagine that the poor bastard professor he'd spotted that morning was getting a good ribbing from whatever friends and family he might have and that the royal blue sweater was going to find its way into a trash bin or the back of a closet. It was some small comfort that it hadn't just been him. It seemed too impossible. There were people out there who enjoyed doing that on purpose, and there were people who just happened to look like they came from a certain mix of European backgrounds, who had a classically handsome face with the wrong hair color.

That was enough of the news, so he flicked it over to something easy, a reiteration of some movie about cyborgs from a few hundred years ago. There really wasn't anything new under the sun, Wufei supposed, and settled in for an evening of preposterous sci-fi entertainment.

* * *

Duo was nice and brought the coffee pot over to his desk that morning, pouring him a hearty splash and dripping some onto his otherwise immaculate desk. 

At 0530 that morning, he'd woken up to the sound of someone using clippers. Not just using them for a shave, but going to town on them. He swore he hadn't heard a dog upstairs, but it sounded like something was being groomed.

It was too early for him by half, and at least an hour before the quiet hours ended for the building. So he needed extra coffee, and Iron had sent him more analysis; the Preventer seemed to be down a rabbit hole of tracking supplies and convoy movements, had found shipments and receipts of rare metals, and had packaged it over to him.

The send time was 0220.

He might be a little in love if he did that sort of thing. Duo had certainly professed a great deal of admiration for him. Her? Wufei didn't know. It didn't matter. The important part was the frankly amazing amount of information, and the fact that it had been sent in the middle of the night said that whoever it was clearly enjoyed their job and was good at it. Well, that or they might have a problem with insomnia, but who didn't every now and then?

Duo swore that sifting through thousands and thousands of satellite photos was a great cure for insomnia, but he would personally never waste his time trying it. Some people had an eye for it and some didn't. No amount of training in the world could seem to make him personally take an interest in doing it himself. That was what analysts were for. 

So he and Duo had prepared a brief on it for Anne and they were going to talk to her about it after lunch. The particular weight and types of metals were very suspicious, and it very much indicated that someone was trying to build weapons.

Another day, another lunatic who hadn't gotten enough of war and death and destruction.

He was never going to understand people like that; he'd had enough of it by the time he'd bombed the first base. After the Eve Wars, he'd just been fucked up. There was no question of that. it was one of the reasons he'd ended up on L3 in Mariemaia's army. He'd had nothing left by then, and it hadn't helped in the least.

Most of the soldiers who had joined her had been of the same disposition. They had lost everything; they had lost their leaders, they had lost their cause, they had lost families, colonies, fellow soldiers. They had lost themselves. He was grateful that he had come back to himself, that he fit with the Preventers. 

Once Anne approved of the operation, there was still the challenge of working out the best way to strike first -- cut the money off first and risk warning them? Or invade.

"I say we go ahead and put together a strike team," he finally decided. "We go in, we take care of it, and then we set the analysts digging through whatever we find there." Wufei paused thoughtfully. "Or we send Trowa." He was appallingly good at undercover.

"So we put that as a COA? Three, send Trowa." Duo was leaning around his desk to lift an eyebrow at him. "What's Iron think about the financials? Cause Anne's gonna ask. Maybe we can dial them in."

Wufei frowned. "Iron suggests that it's probably coming out of L3 again." It was a shame his people had blown themselves up and not that hellhole. "I'm pretty sure that Barton's replacement is still working with his ideals, he just doesn't have anyone to offer up on a platter as a sacrifice to gain immediate followers. I'll ask him if he can poke around without anyone noticing."

"That's all we can do. I mean if he can get account numbers and stuff, yeah." Duo scooted his chair over toward Wufei, to look over his shoulder. "I kinda feel like COA three, send in Trowa is a good idea and also will get us slapped."

Shrugging, Wufei leaned back to let Duo see better. "Wouldn't be the first time she wanted to slap someone." Hell, it wouldn't be the tenth time with them. They'd originally been paired up with Sally Po and Lucrezia Noin, supposedly to keep them out of trouble. Unfortunately for Anne, Sally and Noin were very good at their jobs. They were now her immediate subordinates and had been tasked with pulling together satellite offices, which left her dealing with him and Duo.

"Hmn, you think we can get Iron to dial into the meeting to answer questions? I read it, but I'm not an expert, and if Anne has questions..." He shrugged, and also took Wufei's mouse to edit something. Wufei missed having personal space.

"Why are you even asking me? You've already got the mouse, send him a message. Meeting's at what? Two?" Duo was weird sometimes about things like appropriate personal space and sharing. Also, he hoarded snacks in his bottom right hand drawer, and while he would willingly offer them to someone, reaching in without an offer might just lose someone their hand. Growing up on the streets on L2 gave him some hoarding issues. Wufei usually brought his own snacks and put them in Duo's drawer so they hadn't had any issues.

Everyone had their own issues, and Duo's also included how to interact with authority appropriately. He made a face, and opened a message, typed away on the keyboard for a moment. Wufei saw the sign off _Duo on Wufei's keyboard 'cause he's scared of all the analysts now_ and then it was sent. No point in arguing that he wasn't scared of the analysts, and he leaned his head back and huffed out a breath. Well. That would undoubtedly run through that department at the speed of light. Copper would be back and haunting the break room just to see him run in a heartbeat.

He was never going in there again.

Duo fussed with the slides a little more and then moved his chair out of the way to give Wufei back his space. There was a message waiting for him.

_I'll call in. Don't feel bad, they scare me, too._

There was no helping the grin. He found himself rather liking their new analyst. He (or she?) was good at their job and obviously had a sense of humor. There were worse qualities to find in a co-worker.

The rest of the morning ran smoothly enough, Duo and Wufei getting everything ready to implement their COA, notifying Trowa that they might need him to help them out on a project.

They were all ready for the meeting later, with Anne as she waved them into her office. She was already speaking softly on the phone. "Yes, dinner on Friday. Think about what you want. We'll make it a treat and stay up late. I have to go, dear, I have a meeting." That was her very patient voice, which neither he nor Duo got to hear much of, so he assumed it was Mariemaia.

"Is she doing well?" It wasn't as if he had any business knowing, honestly, but Wufei wanted her to be happy, to be a child. Expecting her to lead an army had been utterly fucked up. The fact that everyone had looked to her for leadership on the basis of bloodline alone said... nothing really good about where their society was.

"Very well. The physical therapy is taking well, and she's walking in small bursts." That had to be hard, but it also removed some of the burden of expectation. Which was even more fucked up, and he didn't need to consider that when he should focus on Malaysian weapons factories. "So, gentlemen. Let's talk about your plans." Ah, and there was that look. "Iron should be calling in shortly."

Wufei sat in the chair closest to her desk and Duo slumped down into the other one, tossing a leg over one arm. "It's pretty self-explanatory," he told her.

"We promise nothing will blow up this time," Wufei advised.

"Nothing important," Duo qualified.

"You know; you could pitch it to me. This is a presentation, not a document." She sounded like someone had said that to her before, and she sighed even as she looked at the file on her computer. The phone rang, and she put it onto speakers which always added a crackle and some tinny fun.

_"I apologize if I'm late."_

"Right on time, as always. I have Mercury and Wind here. They're just about to give me their presentation." That look over her reading glasses said a lot. It was almost as scary as she'd been on the lunar base, not that Wufei would have admitted that he found it so. He'd rather die.

"I'll go on mute until someone asks for me." And then Wufei heard the beep of someone doing just that. The man had a low, quiet voice, a little rough. 

Duo cleared his throat and looked sideways at Wufei. "Given the intel packages Iron gave us, Mercury and myself continued the investigation to see what options we had for dealing with the facilities. If you go to slide two..."

It was a fair slog after that. Planning usually was, because they had contingencies for their contingencies. If nothing else, living through a war had taught them that anything that could go wrong would probably go infinitely badly wrong, and Wufei liked backup plans. He definitely wasn't planning to suffocate again at any point.

It wasn't as bad as Duo feared. There was a sharpness to her, yes, but she had also been the one to save them from being suffocated, because she was a good woman at heart no matter what she had been doing during some parts of the war. She certainly wouldn't try to kill him for a bad briefing if he at least tried.

"Iron, do you think it's feasible to find their funding sources in the next... say, three days, while we put everything in place for a raid?"

There was a click, and a soft thoughtful hum. _"I'll have most of them by then, yes."_ Something about the cadence sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe it was something with the accent. It sounded a little like Anne's.

"Awesome!" Duo sounded a little too excited.

Wufei was going to have to stock up on explosives. He just knew it. "We'll have everything put together and out by end of day. Tonight at the latest." Since Iron apparently stayed up all hours of the night, anyway.

_"I probably can't move my timeline up, but I'll try."_

"That's unnecessary," Anne cut in firmly, looking at Wufei and Duo with a dubious look on her face. "We will move deliberately and we will not rush. I am not risking people on this."

That was all right. He liked caution better than Duo in any case. After all, he was the only one who hadn't taken the bait when Khushrenada had gotten the others to kill the Alliance leaders. "Everything will finalize before we go, I just want to be sure you've got a general sketch of the plan so you can take it into account."

"Talk to logistics and I'll see you here again at 1400 for a status update. Any other questions?" She looked at Duo, and Wufei, while on the phone Iron said, _"None, Lady."_

Huh. Must be someone from the Treize Faction. At a guess. Duo pushed himself up, grinning at her. "Roger that, ma'am. We'll get on it, see how things go, and keep you updated."

"And no explosions," she told them sternly.

Wufei glanced at Duo, who promptly lied. "Us? Never, ma'am!"

"Mmmhmm. 1400 tomorrow, full update from all three of you. And then since it's occurring in Preventer Water's area of operations, you'll spend tomorrow afternoon making sure it's coordinated correctly with her."

Apparently they were going to pretend they had a respect for the chain of command and process that week.

At least it was Sally. He was pretty sure Noin was still holding a grudge against him, even if she never actively did anything to suggest as much. It was just a feeling he had. Or maybe it was guilt, but there were some things that a man just had to live with and the past was one of those things. There was no running away from it and very little pretending that it didn't happen when he damned well knew it was.

"Dismissed." 

Duo seemed pretty upbeat as they headed out of the office, digging through his notes. "So we're gonna get to spend the weekend blowing shit up and arresting folks. Man, I think I already signed my time card."

Wufei shrugged. "You'll just have to make the adjustments next week if you have. I'll check to be sure we have plenty of ammo." And plenty of explosives. Possibly Anne shouldn't have put them together as a team if she didn't want shit blown up, although things could always be worse. Actually... putting any of them on the same team probably ended in explosions, so there wasn't a lot of upside to it.

"I hate paperwork," Duo declared after another moment, while they got into the elevator. "So you think we can choke this one off quick?"

Weirdly enough, paperwork didn't bother Wufei very much. It was almost calming sometimes, something that was predictable and easy enough. On some days, it was boring as hell, but that was usually a sign that he needed to get out more often. "The initial paperwork's no problem. It'll be the after reports that are a pain."

"Maybe we can get Iron to do that, except for the on the ground shit. Copper would've." Copper wanted to tap his ass and had probably gone above and beyond for that reason.

"I don't think we have an in there. Plus, if Anne catches us at it, it'll be The Lecture of April 198 again. Do you really want that?" Wufei didn't. It had lasted forever, and the last time anyone had lectured him like that he'd been maybe twelve. It was the adult version of _I'm So Disappointed In You_. Duo didn't seem to mind it, but it made Wufei sulk for weeks. He felt persecuted and judged and angry at himself, and it was never going to happen again.

"Maybe by the time we finish our report, we might have something new to chase down. I like getting out of the office."

Possibly so. "If you're antsy, there's always the gym." Which probably wouldn't help Duo because it was still indoors, and there was something about it that made him antsy after too much time.

"Nah, but I'm making you call down to logistics." He bumped his shoulder as he stepped out of the elevator. "We're gonna blow shit up."

Wufei pushed his own shoulder into Duo's in return. "We're gonna blow shit up," he agreed.

It got him a laugh, and the laugh kept him going through the next four tedious phone calls and the paperwork that Anne signed, authorizing the use of force and the issuance of equipment. Iron messaged him, saying he would have something for him in the morning, but that he was going to sign off for a bit. Maybe he was the kind of person who took a nap and then got up and worked at something again. It would explain the middle of the night mail, he supposed.

"You wanna go out tonight?" Duo asked as they were heading out. "C'mon, you spend too much time at home."

"I enjoy time at home. I require a certain amount of silence and alone time before I can face dealing with other people again."

"But there's bars. You can have silent time with me in a nice classy bar and drink something that tastes blue." Duo was trying to meet his eyes, stepping in front of him a little.

Wufei went ahead and met his gaze. "There's no such thing as silent time with you," he advised. Duo used conversation like a weapon sometimes. It was a little disconcerting for people who weren't accustomed to it.

"We should celebrate before we head out to tackle the evil doers of the world!" Duo slung an arm over his shoulders, gesturing in front of them. "When was the last time you got laid?"

Fuuuck. "A gentleman never reveals such details. Also, it's none of your business." It had been literally years, and it really was no one's business.

"You should get laid. Shake it out, you know. Have a shitty one night stand and figure out that yeah, it's fun again!" It wasn't fun again. He had to get to know people, and everyone he knew happened to be people he worked with, and that never ended well. That ended in tears and demotions and having to move far away so that he could avoid that person.

"Thanks for the sentiment." His voice was dry as the Sahara. "But if it's all the same, I have leftovers and my own bed waiting for me."

Duo tsked. "Man, leftovers? This gets worse. Hero of the earth sphere -- and his fabulous cold pasta dinners. All right. Maybe tomorrow?"

There was no hiding his snort of amusement. "Maybe tomorrow. But tomorrow's gym night." Which they did with fair regularity, actually, and which always ended with them stopping for food on the way home anyway.

"Gym night counts. Maybe if I do better than you do, you owe me a beer." Yeah he was angling and that was okay. "Have a good ride home."

One hand raised over his shoulder in a wave and they parted ways, Wufei heading towards his apartment, his leftovers, and his peace and quiet.

The evening dark was coming on earlier and earlier as winter came closer, and Wufei knew the time would come when he used public transport more with everything getting colder, so he enjoyed the ride home. It was relaxing, and of course now that Duo had intruded on his brain for the evening he saw couples heading to restaurants, happy families walking clustered on the street as he coasted past, groups of friends heading out for a long night of drinking.

It made him feel lonely instead of alone, which didn't happen to him often. Maybe he should have gone out with Duo after all, just for the companionship. He knew how that ended, though -- Duo was a natural flirt and they'd end up with a table full of people with whom he'd feel utterly out of place. He didn't regret the decision; it wasn't that. It was... he didn't know.

Sometimes he felt restless, like he wanted more. Like he wanted things he couldn't have anymore, because he wanted the impossible. He had moved on, but perhaps not as much as he could have. 

He just didn't know.

Wufei opened the door to his apartment, shouldered it closed, and locked it behind him. It was perhaps best to stay in and mope. He was pretty sure there was some raspberry sorbet in the freezer, and he had two dozen books to read.

He ended up watching trash television until bedtime instead.

* * *

The fifth floor apartment Anne had found for him was a delight in exactly one way -- the view was exquisite, spreading out over New Port City in such a way that he spent a fair portion of his evening watching the sun slowly set. It was calming and relaxing; sometimes he needed that.

He had rearranged the room for it, setting a chair in front of the window with the best view, and a table beside it so he could nurse a glass of wine and enjoy the view, letting his mind unwind from having spent hours solving puzzles for other people.

The world needed Preventers more than it needed dead generals, although he had to admit he did find it highly entertaining when someone thought they recognized him and it ended up in the news. But a day as a data analyst was an infinite improvement over the last two years he'd spent as a prisoner.

Aside from that, Treize Khushrenada was living in what was essentially an attic.

It was a nice attic, and it covered the entirety of the fifth floor, so there was room to roam. He wasn't sure if he wanted to roam; sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't, but the idea itself was almost amusing. He wasn't at a donut shop in New Kansas because he was definitely living in an attic in New Port City.

And his punishment for having been spotted the day before was that Lady had shown up and sheared his hair tight at the sides of his head, and short on top to try and make him look less recognizable. She had given up on trying to forbid him from going out, only that he was to keep it to the quieter times of the night and morning. Sometimes he couldn't help himself. It was good to be free, and going from one prison to another wasn't exactly freedom.

At first, he'd had a lot of time on his hands. It had been wonderful to have some liberty, to be able to go out for coffee, to buy books, just to roam the streets and see other people. Sometimes the crowds became unbearable though, and he couldn't make himself leave the house. A few days, he hadn't managed to make it out of the bed, and those had been the worst of them. Lying there in the dark, it had taken effort to force himself out of it, and finally he had determined that he would have to find something to do to keep himself busy on those days.

That was how he'd found the staircase.

There had been a panel in the back of his closet. It was a faint textural difference of the wall, the difference between plaster and wood, both slicked down with a coat of rather annoying soft grey paint. He had pressed at the wood out of curiosity, and then found flat latches and a door came open, with a little work to free it from the grey and two other white coats of paint.

It was obvious that no one had been on the staircase in longer than anyone could remember; it was dark and coated in dust, so much so that he'd immediately gone to fetch cleaning supplies because something about it bothered him immensely. Probably it had been the notion that spiders might well have nested in there, and those things had to go. Immediately. He'd had enough of small dark spaces, of places that hadn't been tended to. His dislike had been almost enough to keep him from exploring further.

Almost.

It had taken another two days to see what was on the other side between distracting himself and locating a flashlight.

What he had found was a small space; it didn't take up much room and was probably just an old servants' staircase that had been closed up over the years and forgotten. The house, before it was sectioned into apartments, had clearly been one expensive estate, so there were bound to be things like that left over. In one corner had been a handful of old furniture pieces, so someone had obviously known about it at some point. The stairs creaked, but there was no give under his feet when he tried them, so Treize thought that it was safe enough to use. At the bottom of the stairwell, he'd found nothing more than another flat wall, and that had been a curiosity indeed. He'd explored it, and finally found a tiny latch off to the side.

"Eureka." He'd whispered it to himself and then chuckled, so obviously he'd spent far too much time in his own company then. But when all one had to amuse themselves was themselves, well. A man worked with what he had available.

He'd stepped out into another apartment, occupied. The door was covered by a bookcase packed with books, but not so heavily packed that they threatened to fall out from the slow slide of the door opening. It was a risk, and his curiosity ran high as he stepped out into the living room, inspecting the decor, the furnishings. Whoever lived there was austere, tidy, understated.

And then he realized the gift Lady had accidentally given him.

There were very few personal items that obviously stated to whom it belonged; mostly there was furniture with nice clean lines, a number of books, and a refrigerator that was mostly full of leftover takeaway. The bedroom had precisely three framed photos; one of a young man with waist length hair grinning at the camera, one that was obviously the occupant's parents, and one framed wedding photo.

Chang Wufei lived in the apartment at the bottom of the hidden staircase.

Surely she had put him there on purpose, even if she didn't know about the staircase. Surely... his mind had spun with the revelation at the time. He'd retreated, and not crossed the staircase for a week, fully expecting it to be discovered by Wufei when he was in his apartment. Somehow.

Now it was his treat for bad days, slipping down the stairs to step into another world. Sometimes he would re-light the altar candles if they had gone out. Sit in the living room and appreciate that there were wall to wall windows there. One particularly bad day, he had laid atop the made bed and dozed on the duvet until his alarm went off, then he'd slipped back up the stairs. The smell of the sheets had made him think of other times, and felt like another human was there with him.

He knew it was odd. He knew that it was obsessive. And he was absolutely certain that the pilot of 05 had never considered him to be of any importance aside from being someone he had to fight, but he so desperately needed that connection sometimes. He had been attracted to him immediately when he'd come out of his Gundam to fight him one on one. He had chosen to die at his hand. That probably didn't scream attraction for some people, but there it was.

He had a beautiful soul, and everything he had done throughout the war had been cunning and brave in turns. It didn't have to make sense to anyone else.

No one needed to know. He was careful, and sometimes he just needed to feel a connection, any connection, even though it was entirely in his head. He could hear Wufei downstairs, hear noises now and then, the television. Treize took a sip of his wine and closed his eyes for a moment, letting his head rest back against the chair. The short cropped hair was upsetting, but Lady had been upset, worried, and he... Some days he didn't know. Didn't have a grip of himself. Memories overlapped on the shores of his mind, and he remembered a cold cell and hair shaved off, fingers that weren't his on his scalp, making the stubble prickle, a threat that made his heart race now, while he opened his eyes again and focused on the sunset, his glass of wine.

He was fine. Well, no. He wasn't fine, but that was what therapy was for, and if it meant wearing the contacts he detested in order to change his eye color, if it meant answering to a name that wasn't his, well. At least Lady had a sufficient number of persons with high security clearance that she already had someone on staff who probably expected to hear exactly the sort of horrors he'd suffered.

So he simply didn't talk.

There was nothing to talk about, and he didn't, couldn't. Couldn't. There had been other prisoners, other OZ officers and enlisted who had fallen with him, and they screamed, they'd screamed so loud. Some days he didn't talk at all, because everything could be typed, or he could point in the shops and pretend he was foreign and didn't talk. He would tap his ear twice, the side of his face with the scarring, and make an apologetic gesture, and just point at the menu or the cabinet. He didn't have to hear himself except when Lady or Mari talked to him. 

So it had been a weird treat to hear Wufei and 02 on the phone that afternoon.

More than a treat. He'd enjoyed listening to their plan and he was enjoying acting as their support. Mostly he was enjoying having a connection to the world again, even if it happened to be one that was wholly in his own mind. He had no question that it was, just...

Letting out a sigh, he leaned further back in his chair and finished off his glass of wine. He allowed himself two or he'd end up at the bottom of the bottle every time, and possibly the bottom of multiple bottles. He set limits for himself so he could function in the small world he had carved out for himself. Treize stood up, rubbing fingers at the sharp hair against the nape of his neck as he wandered back to the kitchen to pour his second glass of wine. He was half unable to stop himself; it was an interesting sensation, touch, fingertips on skin, and it was terrifying at the same time, made him shiver a little as he poured and then re-corked the bottle.

Once he shook off the wine, he'd get back to tracing their payroll. They weren't using cash so it would be something he could find. And if he was up half the night, tracing it down, it would be fine. He'd let Lady know and be sure that he arrived in plenty of time to make the dial in for the meeting.

Which meant he'd get to hear them again.

Perhaps he should be worried that he found that so comforting.

And then again, perhaps he didn't care at all if it was worrying, if he could have the comfort of it.

* * *

Gym night was usually pretty good. Working out the frustrations of the day followed by a beer was never actually a bad night for Wufei. Sometimes it wasn't a great night for Duo, but that was usually because he was a raging flirt and people occasionally took him far too seriously. At the faintest sign of someone taking him seriously, Duo usually backed up. Wufei wasn't the only one with issues, that much was certain. Still, he was nicer than Duo was to him, and didn't throw it back in his face. It felt good to be sore and stretched and tested, and just a little buzzed, to have enough alcohol in his head that he knew he'd sleep soundly before he had to get up in the morning and pack for their flight.

It had been a busy week, and the long-haired strikeout would probably be half unbearable in the morning because he'd certainly drank more than Wufei had. Wufei had dutifully put him in a cab and set him on his way, then walked back to his apartment since it wasn't that far. Neither was Duo's, really, but Wufei felt better having at least sent him home.

As for him, he enjoyed the chill of the autumn night on his walk, hands tucked in his pockets. It felt like the kind of thing he would have chosen for himself even if he hadn't been given the opportunity to work with the Preventers. Quatre had always been amazed at the beauty of Earth, and Wufei found that he couldn't argue with that. It was beautiful, in cities and in wide forests. He wasn't afraid to walk through the dark alone. New Port City was peaceful, crime was low, and he'd seen more frightening things in his life. 

He passed the badly named shoe store on the first floor, and let himself into the apartment building. It was late enough that most of the other tenants had their lights out or low; there was a faint glow of life coming from the attic room, and he hoped the occupant continued to be quiet up there.

When he got in, he decided to go ahead and pack. He was terrible in the morning, barely coherent until he managed a couple of cups of coffee. Putting together his bag seemed wise, beer or no beer.

He'd puttered around putting things in the bag for a while when he realized that something was off. It felt strange and a little wrong. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, at first.

He could swear he hadn't left his carabiners where he found them, clipped together and sitting on the windowsill in the living room. It seemed a likely place to find them because he tended to click at them if they were in his hand and he wasn't paying attention, but he was sure that windowsill had been empty that morning.

And then there was his wedding photo.

It wasn't that far from where it should be. He probably wouldn't even notice it if he weren't a little obsessive about its placement. He would look at it often enough, and he always put it back on his nightstand, the prop neatly placed two inches from the corner farthest from the bed.

Tonight, it was in the center.

A little shudder worked down his spine, and he wondered if he might be losing his mind. Maybe he'd put it there, but he was sure he hadn't.

There were questions.

A lot of them.

Feeling paranoid, he checked his apartment, right down to the kitchen cupboards. No sign of anyone.

Maybe the landlord had come around to do some kind of repairs? He'd normally call. Maybe the next apartment had an issue and he'd needed to turn off the water? But then why would he pick up the picture?

Other than just... nosiness. Which was possible, but it felt like a horrible violation if it was, and he just... Something about it unsettled him deeply. It made him feel unwell, and he had a gut instinct for a reason, he knew. He had always listened to it, and it told him he hadn't set it in the center of the nightstand. 

He sat on the bed trying to get his bearings, and that was when he smelled the cologne. It smelled like tobacco and leather, sweet and rich, a suggestion of vanilla and alcohol that he swore he had smelled before in his life but he couldn't place.

What the hell was going on? 

The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he didn't bother ignoring it. Instead, he pulled his sidearm from the bag he'd packed and made the rounds of the house again before finally deciding that he wasn't leaving his own domain. He refused. And he didn't believe in ghosts, so that meant it had to be someone human.

A real person moved pictures and left a scent behind on his bedding. So he could imagine they had sat where he had sat, perhaps laid down. His inability to place it was haunting him, because he _had_ smelled it before, that suggestion of warmth in a smell. It just wasn't coming to him.

There was no one there now, he was sure of that much, and so he did the only thing he could do.

He went into his work gear and began to pull out his stash of surveillance equipment. Most of it was tiny and barely noticeable. At a guess, it probably wasn't the first time whoever it was had come in, and therefore it wouldn't be the last. Wufei would be nowhere in sight for three or four days, and that would embolden whoever it was, he was sure. And when he came back, he would solve the mystery, easy as that.

As horrifying as that, too, and he was going to be checking the camera while he was away.

* * *

He looked forward to Friday nights.

It worked out well for everyone; Lady got a few hours to herself and he was able to spend time with Mariemaia learning about her. Trying to be something in her life. 

He didn't even mind when Lady came back at the end of the night with her new boyfriend, Giancarlo. Not new anymore, he supposed ruefully. It was good that she'd moved on, even if things had been briefly very complicated. It wasn't good to think about those first few nights back from captivity when everyone thought he was doing much better than he was, and he hadn't been able to hold the facade together through any sort of actual application. It was really for the best that Lady had found someone. Giancarlo was nice enough and he made a stupendous espresso, which Treize could appreciate. Especially when he was fairly certain he'd be working overwatch through the night as the Preventers began their work in Malaysia. The primary Preventers were both the sort who preferred to attack from darkness, and there was no question that something would explode considering who they were. If nothing else, Treize could appreciate the predictability of it. He didn't mind that Mariemaia would maybe see or hear some of it; she had an interest in what they did, and it perhaps helped reinforce the opposite of what her grandfather had taught her.

He heard the elevator rumble to life and glanced at his watch before heading to his front door. Right on time.

"Hello, Father." She looked delighted to see him. Sometimes he couldn't imagine why, but he took it as it came because what else could he be expected to do?

Behind her chair, Anne was smiling at him. "Good evening."

"Hello, Mariemaia. Lady." It was hard not to smile as he stepped aside to let them come in. "I think you said you wanted Thai tonight?"

"Yes! You promised me pad si eew and mango sticky rice," Mariemaia reminded him. "And that we would watch something together." Which probably meant something a bit juvenile for his taste, but he delighted in the fact that she enjoyed time with him so it wasn't a hardship.

"We'll be back early," Anne promised. "I know you're support for the work in Malaysia tonight."

"Take your time. Worst case I'll put a headset on and Mariemaia can help me stare at maps." He smiled at Lady, and headed to the kitchen where the takeout bags were already waiting. "I remembered my promise."

Freshly delivered and ready to eat. Mariemaia's face lit up. It was so easy to make her happy; she didn't expect anything from him and was always excited when he did little things that only required effort to remember. If justice existed anywhere in the universe, Dekim Barton was not only dead, but suffering. "Oh, I'm so glad it's Friday!"

Anne laughed, indulgent, and leaned down to kiss Mariemaia's forehead. "Have a good time."

"She will. Thank you, Lady." He waved, and let her close the door. She had keys, after all, and came and went freely, and Friday evening was no difference.

It was good to see the daughter he hadn't known he'd had, though. "How was school this week?"

"Boooring. They always talk as if we're children." Well. Yes. That would be because most of them were, in fact, children, in an entirely different manner than Mariemaia. "But I did well in physical therapy and I'm walking more steadily for longer periods of time." It had been not quite three years since the original injury and progress had been very slow. She was fortunate to be able to walk at all.

He was glad that she had received the best of care, because it made recovery so much... more likely. Treize reached into the takeout bags to unpack. "That's excellent -- do you feel up to setting the table? Or shall we make Lady frown and eat on the sofa?"

The way she beamed at him made something go soft and squishy and strange inside of him. "The sofa, please, Father. Can we?"

"Absolutely." He had Thai coffee for her, too, just coffee and sweetened condensed milk, and she'd be up a bit late, but Lady would live. If giving her coffee was the worst thing he did, he suspected he was doing okay even by Lady's exacting standards. "Go get comfortable and I'll bring everything over."

"Do you want to see me walk?" She looked at him hopefully. It was only a few feet, and she seemed to be feeling quite confident. "I can show you."

He set down the cardboard box of food he was holding, trying not to look too much like he was going to dive for her if she started to fall. "I'd love to see you walk, if you're comfortable trying."

She set the brake on her wheels and put both hands on the arms of the chair, removing her feet from the supports. They automatically eased out of the way and she pushed herself to standing. Six tottering steps later, she carefully settled herself on the couch and looked up at him, clearly wanting his approval.

She had made it, and that was a huge relief as he crossed the distance to lean in and lightly hug her. He'd been ready in case... and he hadn't needed to be. "That's amazing -- all from your hard work."

"It truly is hard work, but there are all kinds of new therapies and they tell me I'm doing very well." He hoped they weren't offering her too much hope, just in case it wasn't... well.

Sometimes things hit a wall and never got any better, and that was something that he thought eleven was maybe too young to deal with. While Mariemaia was mature for her age, it didn't actually make things that were emotionally devastating easier to deal with. He'd talk to Lady about it later.

"Are they doing new therapies with you?" He asked it while he brought her her coffee and food first, opening up the boxes and bringing forks.

Mari made a face, one that was infinitely familiar. Vingt had used to make the same one. "Not until I'm fully grown, they say. Until then, physical therapy is the most important thing." She gave a long suffering sigh, but gladly took the fork he offered and dug it into the pad si eew. "Mmmmm."

He brought his own food over, and settled down beside her. She was small for her age, like Vingt had been. "Physical therapy got me back on my feet very quickly, so I have nothing but good things to say about the people Lady hires."

She smiled at him. "Yes, but it makes me sweaty and I hate being sweaty. Shall I tell you instead about what we studied this week?"

He hated being sweaty, too, but he wasn't going to accidentally discourage her. Instead he smiled at her and took a bite of his pad woonsen. "I thought you said it was boring and you were running circles around them."

"I am, but we read this book..."

After that, it was a good evening. They spent more time talking than they did watching anything, and it was good to see her enjoying herself. By the time Lady and Giancarlo returned around 2030 hours, Mari was draped in his lap asleep. When he didn't get up to answer the soft knock, Lady used her key so they could get in, and seeing the way her face softened when she saw the child was everything he needed to know.

She loved Mariemaia; loved her deeply, and he was grateful for that, that Lady had opened her home and her heart to an orphan. 

And then he'd shown up, too, and in a way she had a child and a half now. He was willing to admit that even as he waved hello at them with his free hand. "This is despite the coffee. Did you have a good evening?"

"It was quite acceptable." A prim answer, but he noticed that her hair was a bit more in disarray than when she had left. He imagined that it might well have been far more than acceptable.

Giancarlo grinned. "Ahh, cara mia, it was so much more than acceptable. You wound me."

He nudged Mariemaia gently, feeling a hint of urgency as he heard the phone at his workstation ring. "Mari. Mari, it's time to go home -- I have to work now."

She mumbled something and didn't move.

"I have her," Lady promised, and leaned down to gently shift her so that he could get out from under. "We'll leave you to it. I'll lock up on our way out."

It only took a moment for Giancarlo to slip in close. "Here, love, I have her. You get the chair. Up we go, Mari." He shifted her into his arms and she woke just enough to cling on like a little monkey, then laid her head on his shoulder and was out again.

Best to keep her sleeping instead of shocking her awake. He slipped free, and crossed the floor, putting his headphones on quickly. "Iron speaking." He could multitask, watching Lady and Giancarlo leave with his daughter, trying to log into the computer system he left running most hours of the day. Watching them made him feel something he didn't want to deal with just then. Didn't have the ability to deal with properly, just a tightness in his chest.

A want.

No. A need.

 _"This is Mercury, we're about to launch project."_

"Bringing up the ball." He'd had a UAV circulating overhead at a ridiculous height for the last six hours, dumping raw data, and now he could see it on his screen. "Have you in FLIR."

 _"We are locked and loaded. Ready to commence"_ And about to create havoc, Treize was sure.

"Factory has nineteen pax inside, two second floor, rest ground floor. Recommend backup." No one was going to listen to him, least of all Preventer Wind. Mercury probably considered them sporting numbers.

 _"Roger that."_

He had once seen a movie where a young man was ordered to blow up a bridge to fend off an invading force. The young man had seemed disbelieving at the order, expression making it clear that he didn't think he could possibly have heard correctly.

Mercury and Wind would never make a face like that. They'd probably declare they'd preemptively destroyed the bridge, in point of fact. "Noting you are not requesting backup for the logs," he noted wryly, getting comfortable in his desk chair, and bringing up other screens. "Enemy support coming from the north, three klicks. You will hear a bang. Expect your ground floor to be alerted."

 _"If they aren't alert already, it's their own fault."_ Wind sounded amused, but when didn't he? _"We are proceeding. Mercury is in."_ He was less likely to be immediately noticed than Wind, although it was still moderately dangerous.

"Roger. Shot, over." There was a pause, and then the missile hit the moving vehicle in a satisfying explosion. He could hear gunfire from Mercury's side.

 _"Third floor hallway clear. Proceeding."_ Because Treize had been able to tell them exactly where everything was, it had made it easier to decide how to infiltrate the factory and find the necessary isolated drives.

"Two coming up the stairwell on your left." He switched views rapidly, brought up another satellite in the fourth screen, checking that there weren't distant reinforcements coming.

 _"Roger that."_ Nothing more, but Treize could tell that he was in the right office.

_"Hey, Mercury! We got company!"_

That was Wind failing to deal with the first floor threat appropriately, though he was firing at them. "Fifteen currently on first floor."

 _"Roger. I have the drives."_ And there were people gathering around the door, beating on it. He wasn't surprised to see Mercury shoving something, probably a desk, against it. _"Exit commencing."_

Well shit.

There were going to be explosions, he'd bet money on it. "Exit path clear." It wasn't how he would have done the mission at all but it wasn't his place to argue those details, because everyone had a different technique. This particular partnership was based on pure chaos, and they made it work.

The sound of an explosion came, small, controlled, probably terrifying to anyone who didn't know these lunatics. _"From above, cover me!"_ Mercury yelled, and the bright flame of thermal was nearly blinding, eclipsing Mercury's body as he sailed out of the window.

Still an amazing warrior. Treize flipped views, checked a few other ways of seeing the world. "Four on first floor headed to your location."

The sound of gunfire continued to rattle, loud and percussive, and he saw that the four were now on the floor. _"Time to go!"_ Wind sounded positively gleeful, and they were both running now, making their exit.

"Air support incoming." Had been incoming since he'd sat down, and now the helicopter was close enough to hear. "Clear the berm, you're too close for supportive fire."

Time slowed down when he saw Wufei stumble, heard him curse, sharp and surprised. _"Fuck!"_

 _"Holy shit, man! I got you, I got you!"_ They kept running, not as fast, and Treize didn't know if they were going to manage it.

He watched them clear the berm and then fired three missiles, destroy and distract, to buy them time to keep moving to the rendezvous point. He connected over to the helicopter. "Potentially two casualties are pickup."

_"Roger."_

His pulse raced as he watched, most of his brain active in doing his job. A slow steady thread at the back of his mind couldn't stop worrying, though. He listened to them as they made their rendezvous, as the helicopter took off, heard the medic speaking rapid-fire to the others.

He put his mike on mute and worked files, zoomed out. The urge to scorch the rest of the factory from the Earth was vindictive and impossible, and he left it, because it was outside of his remit. Someone would plug in the hard drives within the hour and he could start to work the data, but he left the channel open on listen for the moment and made another pot of coffee.

There wasn't anything else to do.

* * *

When Wufei blinked open his eyes, he was a little surprised by the white tile ceiling above him. He wasn't entirely sure _why_ it was above him, actually, and it took several long moments of contemplation before he managed to ask himself a few questions.

Like where he was and why everything hurt like a mother.

Especially his upper right thigh.

"Well, hello, Wufei."

Huh.

A lady voice.

"Oh, man, he's awake?" Ah. Duo. That was good. That probably meant he hadn't been tortured. His brain was still muddled though.

"He's awake." It was Sally, he was sure, but everything was weird and blurry. 

"You got shot. Right to the thigh, cut through the outside. Smash. You're gonna miss leg day for like a month."

Wufei opened his mouth and it felt like he'd been gargling sand. "Water?"

"Oh, hey, yeah." And then Duo came into view with a cup that had a straw and possibly it was the best thing that had happened to Wufei in a while. Possibly he even moaned a little.

"Okay, my turn."

Her turn for what? Shining a bright light in his eyes, apparently. "You knocked your head a bit on the way into the helicopter. Everything looks good here."

He was sure it did, but he was also pretty sure he wasn't really awake. He was just pretend awake, because he lost the thread after that.

Everything was confusing when he opened his eyes again. He was pretty sure he'd been in a different room, but maybe not? And the light was different. Something about the light and the humidity was different.

"Hey, there's my guy." Duo was standing over him, grinning. Did he even sleep? "You've been out long enough we've made it back to Sanc. Hell, I even managed to go home and change clothes and get some sleep. Pretty sure they wanted to be sure you'd be knocked out long enough not to bear the discomfort of the travel."

"Hmmm," Wufei agreed. "My mouth tastes like something died in it."

"It's probably your tongue. So you got everything we needed to get, even if things kind of went sideways. Anne's been here." He must have been worried to stop the data dump right there and not keep going.

"That's good." Wufei closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "Catch me up. Also, water." He might sleep again, but maybe he'd last for Duo to tell him what he wanted to know.

He poured a glass of water, and brought it over to Wufei as a start, which was nice. "Okay, catching you up. Iron tracked the funding to six different groups outside of the city, natch, and _not_ L3. He was as shocked as any of us that it's coming from L1. Anyway. Also you have like a tunnel in your leg. Sort of maybe a ditch. A short ditch."

"Attractive," Wufei muttered, and drank deeply from the plastic glass. It even had a handle in case someone was worried they'd drop it. "Fun times. So what else do we know? You'll probably have to repeat it later. Definitely when I get back to work." Which he hoped would be sooner rather than later.

"Worm burrow," Duo said because he knew that when he was in a hole he preferred to keep digging, wildly and with glee. "So we're staging round up operations for the rest of the money folks in the AO. Sally's people working with the local police. There's some stuff Iron's working and it's all in your email in excruciatingly detailed notes. Also, someone sent us both hardback books on basic room clearing techniques. So we've got that going for us, Mercury."

He'd lay fair odds on who sent it. Ugh, he actually liked Iron, possibly more than he should considering the limited contact they'd had thus far. "I'm pretty sure I know who sent it." Yes, and he was going to ask to be sure because it made him want to laugh.

"Oh yeah. I like a smart ass," Duo grinned. "I always kind of wondered what we looked like in eye in the sky, and now we got _Soldier Skills for Dummies_ showing up, so yeah. Dumb highlight of my day. Also it's _Monday_ , buddy."

Well, hell. "Monday?" So he was missing two days then. Damn. "Yeah, I think we can count Iron as falling into the acceptable range."

"I don't think we could talk him into writing the report," Duo sighed, grabbing the chair again. "Yeah Monday man. You were sort of super high on painkillers yesterday. I now know uncomfortable things about your pudding preferences."

Wufei didn't even know he had pudding preferences. "Doesn't everyone prefer chocolate?" He was fairly certain, anyway.

"No, actually you need to look deep inside yourself and have a conversation. You _really_ wanted banana. We gave you chocolate and you seriously wanted banana. I went to the minimart around the corner for you and got you banana pudding, and you ate like." Duo gestured. "Like half a big cold container of it. I never wanna see you on pot."

"Banana?" He stared at Duo blankly. "I hate banana flavoring. Also," he added, "you don't. It makes me paranoid."

Duo waggled his eyebrows. "Ask the nurses. It was wild. You gotta trust me, Wu. You just gotta trust me."

Banana.

"You're evil incarnate, I wouldn't trust you with anything." Except he trusted him with his life, so... possibly not a good argument, that. "When can I get out of here?"

"Later today if you manage like two hours of consciousness and someone promises to check you every day for a week." Duo flashes his eyebrows at him, indicating he had self selected for that one. "Like it's not life threatening, and the concussion isn't so bad, but it's soft tissue and stitches rip and shit, so I can get your groceries while you lie on your sofa and look sad."

Ugh. He'd have to take the elevator, and it clanked. Wufei didn't mind enclosed spaces, but he had some issues with things he hadn't worked on himself when they made those noises. "Fine. I'll have a list." Why not? "So tell me more about this book."

"It's 250 pages _with_ pictures. On building clearing, Wufei. It's written in English and I swear to god the back cover has _commit to win_ embossed on the back in gold leaf. I'm gonna keep it on my desk forever to fuck with people." He was grinning ear to ear, and Wufei could appreciate that, the snark of it, and then Duo started to feed him bits of news and information from email over the weekend, and he figured he could stay awake for another hour or two.

* * *

The wind was brisk, but it was sunny out, so he walked to the therapist's office feeling partially frozen with burning cheeks by the time he stepped into the building and jogged up the stairs to their office on the second floor. Lady had gotten her wish, though, and it had forced him into a hat, made him just one more Sanc citizen making their way from point A to B on a windy day.

The receptionist greeted him at the desk when he signed in and he didn't have to wait very long before they called his name. He strode back through the halls and was unsurprised to find his therapist already curled up in her usual overstuffed chair when the assistant opened the door.

"You know," Dr. Tullos said, picking up her knitting needles and beginning to weave together whatever craft witchery she'd been working on lately, "I really think I'm making some headway on this thing. It's good to see you."

"Mm." He took his hat off, and sat down in his chair. The view from the window was very nice, distracting. There was a park full of trees across the way and he could see the shape of the defense headquarters rising in the distance behind the trees. He'd had an office there, a hole, when he'd been on a short lived staff and then they'd moved to defenses and trying to... trying to preserve the city when it was overrun.

His heart rate was up, letting his mind sift through it all, and he went to form words two, three times and came up short before he said, "I called in fires from the roof of that building over there in 186. We were trying to keep them out of the city."

He could hear her go still for a moment, and then the clicking of the needles started again. "That must have been hard."

His face hurt, cheeks felt tight and odd, but he cracked a smile, still looking at the window. "My brother and mother died out in the Royal hospital that day. I didn't know, we were just..." He swallowed the knot in his chest, and it didn't move. "Trying to keep the city. We, the king, it." That wasn't where he expected it to go, when he hadn't been able to get Wufei out of his mind, that familiar sound of gunfire. He covered his mouth for a moment while he tried to find what he was trying to say. Organize it.

There was something soothing about the clack click clack, he thought. Maybe he'd just become accustomed to it, coming to spend an hour every Monday evening without fail only to say nothing. "It was a very difficult day for you."

He didn't agree or disagree, just kept staring and struggled for a moment to keep himself under check. "One of my colleagues was shot this weekend. He doesn't know me. I'm just a voice on the radio. I watched it happen, heard it. I can't stop thinking about it."

"What did you feel when it happened?" Treize could see her reflection in the window, her head tilted so that she could keep an eye on him and her stitches.

"Nothing." He drew in a slow breath, trying to get that anxious racing feeling under control. "I told the helicopter what was waiting for them, and carried on. They weren't safe yet, and there was work to be done. But after... Left the radio on and listened while they gave him saline, while the bird was being shot at, while they took them to the hospital. I made coffee. Couldn't stop thinking about it. He deserves more in life than catching some rebel's bullet."

Dr. Tullos hummed. "You said that he doesn't know you. But you didn't say that you don't know him."

He rubbed fingers at the side of his jaw, touching scarred skin, still looking out the window. "I know him. I... have no basis, nothing to do with this concern. I can't. There's nothing to be done."

"Why do you think that?" Clack. Click. "You spend a lot of time observing, I've noticed. Your job is based on observation and analyzing patterns, isn't it?"

"Yes." Always had been, except he'd made the switch from active in the field and brave and leading from the front to... whatever this was. Whatever he could manage. He could remember the vastness of space and the heart pounding excitement of cutting through poorly trained Leos, of turning the tide, of facing Wufei down, baiting him into it. "I took myself out of life."

"So if you took yourself out of it..." The click stopped for a moment. "Then couldn't you put yourself back in?"

He was quiet, turning that over in his mind. All he could think about was the sound of Wufei's startled cry and Duo's panic, the sound of the helicopter blessedly on time, knowing it was going to be okay because it had to. It was such a stupid mission for Wufei to die on, so badly executed if that was it. It wasn't glorious at all. 

"Wouldn't know where to start."

Dr. Tullos gave a thoughtful sound, and he noticed her shifting her knitting in the reflection, unspooling more yarn. "Is it possible that you have a better idea of where to start than you think you do? What I mean to say is that perhaps this person is a good place to start." She was looking at him now, not her knitting. "It's the first time you've come here and talked to me. This experience has prompted something in you. Maybe you're ready to do more than stand back and watch."

He preferred when she looked at her knitting, and focused past the reflection, looking over the tops of the trees. The city was quiet, beautiful, welcoming, and he closed his eyes for a moment, remembering when it had been full of smoke and screams and then silence, silence as the people had fled, huddled into their basements and their rooms and their attics. City after city, after city after colony.

Hiding in their attics, waiting for the next blow to land.

"Perhaps."

The clacking began again, and she wasn't looking at him anymore when he checked. "Sometimes it's harder to see ourselves without other people to reflect the reality of who we are. When we look at ourselves, we see all of the bad things. It's hard to see the good ones, and the longer we look, the more flaws we see and the worse they are." Click. Clack. Click. Clack. "We start to think we don't deserve to be happy because we're so flawed, and that's not really accurate. You do deserve to be happy. You deserve more than standing on the outside looking in." Click. Click. Clack. "Figuring out where to start is difficult. Reaching out is hard." Clack. "But it sounds like you already know where you want to start."

Reaching out was hard, and he didn't know... how to start, if it was even a wise idea. The rest of it, he would turn over in his head in the quiet and contemplate later. He wiped at his eyes with a thumb, swallowing. "It's a terrible idea."

"Maybe." The needles paused. "But unless you take the first step, you'll never know. For me, I've found that the times I didn't try for something I wanted have been the things that I regret most. When I can't sleep, I always think _what if_. It's not the things I tried and failed at that bother me." She began to knit again. "It's hard to tell sometimes, should I, shouldn't I, what are the pros, what are the cons. But you do deserve to be happy. Maybe you aren't ready today. Maybe you won't be ready tomorrow. But maybe you will be soon. Baby steps are okay, so long as you're sure you're going forward."

He exhaled quietly, letting his fingertips drift back a little, rubbing at the side of his neck. Maybe. Maybe. He had enough regrets, things he could never get back. If it went terribly, it went terribly. His life would be no more or less unbearable or bearable than it already was. "I think Lady might be angry at me if I were... to do this."

"It's possible. It's also possible that she'll be proud of you."

Friday had all in all been a bad day for thinking things that stuck in his head, for watching Giancarlo cart Mariemaia off, and Lady's mussed hair, the faint suggestion of relaxation, the bullets sliding past on the radio. Wufei jumping out a window. He closed his eyes tight for a moment, but his heart rate was slowing as he sorted the jumble. He remembered, Zechs after the assassinations by the alliance, meeting Lady, young and orphaned and god they had all been broken, hadn't they? And somehow they had all built themselves up. 

"I think we're done here today."

When he turned around, Dr. Tullos was eyeing her knitting, a frown on her face. "You know, I really am terrible at this. But..." She sighed. "I just keep trying. One of these days, I'll actually manage to make something. Maybe." And she smiled at him. "I'll see you next Monday."

"Mmh." He pulled his toque back on as he stood up, and let himself out. The receptionist wished Mr. Rauta good afternoon, and he waved vaguely at her. He took every step of the stairs at a steady pace, feet on the edge of the steps, and then it was back out into the cold air of a city that lived on, despite everything. The walls were pockmarked, and some of the buildings had been torn down and rebuilt. There were random monuments tucked between buildings, statues, reminders. It was something to run over in his mind as he thought about what he wanted to do with the rest of his evening.

He needed groceries, and it was as good a place as any to contemplate things, he supposed. The list was on his datapad, and he had that with him, so he went to the market closest to his apartment. He usually went later in the evening, but it would be fine.

He would make it quick; it wasn't anything fancy, just fruit, bananas, another bottle of wine, some bread, milk, chicken. He still had carrots and other veg in the fridge, the tomatoes had looked fine. The grapes were still all right. Coffee, he needed more coffee, and it was a sort of autopilot while his mind roamed on missing intimacy all on its own, intrusive.

The store was busier than usual, so he ducked his head down and grabbed a cart, heading to the bakery for fresh bread. He also bought himself a ridiculous cupcake that was quite literally the size of his fist, but it had been an emotionally wrenching afternoon. Sometimes, a person just needed the extra boost.

He made it through the fruit quickly, added apples, and skirted to the back side of the store to get milk and other dairy. Treize knew he could be in and out in fifteen minutes even if he loitered over a choice or two, and with the hat on, he wouldn't draw any undue att...

Attention, and there was Preventer Wind scowling at chocolate milk, blocking the area off with his body and his cart.

He was muttering to himself. "Chocolate, hell, I've seen him eat a tub of the banana, but I guess chocolate _and_ banana might be okay, so yeah, okay." His face brightened. "Bananas to add to it," he declared, and turned, his eyes immediately catching Treize's.

He didn't drop his eyes though he was tempted. He'd never seen Pilot 02 in person before, and it was fascinating for a brief moment. He had been short on the intelligence packets, but there was short on paper and then there was the reality of 5'2" in person. "Excuse me." His voice felt dry, raw, and he flicked his eyes to the milk and moved in a way that would've had most people apologizing and letting him pass.

"Hoooly shitballs." His mouth was hanging open in shock, and his face had gone pale. "Are you... are you kidding me?" Dammit.

Confusion and a grimace were the best reaction, not words, so he nudged 02's cart out of his way so he could get the door open to the glass fronted cold foods section to grab a half gallon of milk.

02 got himself a little closer. "You are not even going to try that. Are you? Oh my god, you really are. Does anyone know?"

Treize was half tempted to abandon the cart except that was more likely to draw attention than if he just carried on. Was he recognizable because the pilots had studied who he was to try to kill him? That was a possibility. Instead, he put the milk in the cart, jaw clenched tight, and headed for the meats.

"Oh, bro, dude, no, seriously?" He heard the rattle of wheels behind him. "Because like. I have questions? I have so many questions. Does Anne know?"

He threw chicken and ground beef into the cart, and he had probably forgotten a dozen things, because once he had coffee, he was going to leave. Fuck, he wasn't ever leaving his apartment again. "Please don't."

"...holy shit." 02 stopped behind him. "So, um. I really do have questions. Are you, like..." He shrugged. "I don't even know."

He scanned the aisle ahead of him like it had any answers, and shook his head mutely at 02 before heading for the coffee aisle. It wasn't a conversation he was having, it wasn't a conversation he'd _had_ with anyone, and it wasn't a conversation he was going to have in an Irma. He needed alcohol, but he didn't need it enough to slow getting out of the store.

"You know I'm gonna follow you, right? Because yeah, my partner needs groceries and he's laid up, but I'm pretty sure the pain meds will have knocked him out by now and I have time. Like. At least a good two hours. So I'm just saying."

02 stopped in front of the coffee when he did, and he closed his eyes tightly for a moment. He needed to get rid of the pilot quickly, how did he do that? At least there was no one in the aisle with them. "I do not want to answer your questions."

"Okay, all right, but like. Does she know? Because if she doesn't know, you know I have to call her, right? Earth security and all that?" He was as ragingly persistent in person as he was anywhere else.

He raised his hands in half a gesture of surrender, half of frustration, still facing the coffee, and then threw a bag of whole beans into his cart. "Yes, she knows."

That breath of relief seemed strange. "Oh, good. She's making faces at me this week, and I cannot even." 02 paused then. "And you're okay? I mean... you're good, right?"

Why would he even ask?

He had no idea what that even meant, what 02 was... He clenched his jaw tight, not quite looking at the other Preventer. "I don't want to talk." Because was that faux concern? He was holding himself together, and he didn't talk about any of it with his therapist, never mind _in the damn grocery store._

"Well, yeah, that's obvious, but... hang on, hang on, where the hell is the..." He was patting himself down impatiently, brow knit, muttering the occasional curse word. When he found what he was looking for, he grinned, pulled a pen out of a pocket with it, and leaned in toward the shelf, scribbling on the back of it. "Here. That's my number on the back of it." 02 thrust the card at him. "Seriously. The war was shit, and some of the stuff after it was shit. And if she knows, well, then that's clear, right?" He would undoubtedly check to be sure. "So, y'know. Just. If you need something." Slim shoulders shrugged. "Sometimes we all need something, right? And it never hurts to ask."

It was the strangest exchange he'd had in a week, a very long week. He took the card in two fingers, and then shoved it into the pocket on the inside of his jacket, up against the datapad. There weren't any words, nothing he could think to say that wouldn't overlap and give away the game, which felt very threatened just then. 

Nothing was making sense, as he looked at the glib, easy-going seeming pilot, who he knew was a keen analytical mind somewhere in there, and... And he wondered what else he was noticing, picking up on. What else was he giving away just by standing still? "I don't... I won't. But thank you." And perhaps he could make his escape at last.

"Well. But if you do. Good luck, I've gotta go get bananas. Doesn't like banana flavoring, my ass." It was a little like being in a lunatic asylum, particularly when 02 sharply turned his cart and went back toward the produce section.

He stayed still for a moment, made sure 02 was actually leaving, and then headed toward the alcohol section, which was near enough the checkout to chance it. Treize grabbed three bottles of decent cheap red and joined the checkout line, feeling off kilter and strangely threatened. He felt weird about going home and possibly meeting 02 there, because obviously he was shopping for Wufei, and what if he saw them there? Just thinking about it made him want to panic, and he kept looking around, trying to be sure that he wasn't going to come up to him again.

Maybe he should start wearing a mask in public.

No, that was ridiculous.

He paid -- the card was Tretten Rauta, and he was sure Duo was going to go to a computer and work his way into their system, look for everything he'd spent money on once he worked out what user he was in the store -- and bagged his groceries quickly before he walked at a steady clip back to the apartment. It wasn't running, but perhaps a little hurried. The sun was starting to set, and everything felt too... Risky.

Too open.

Too much.

He kept looking over his shoulder, and he couldn't stop.

By the time he made it up the steps to his floor, he was panting from the run and his hands were shaking. He nearly dropped the bags three times before he managed to jam in the key, unlock it, and shut it behind him, locking every lock, the door handle, the deadbolt, the chain, the swing bar he'd added just because he didn't feel secure enough without it.

He didn't usually, hadn't in a long while, and he stood there for a moment, staring at the door and not knowing what to do next. He needed to call Lady, tell her what had happened. Let her get the jump on it, that was the obvious answer, but a much more tempting answer was to pretend it hadn't happened at all, knowing full well that 02 was going to call her because it was also very likely that he would lie. He fished his datapad out of his coat, and picked up the meat and milk from the bags to put away. Everything else could stay where it was.

Treize dialed her and waited.

 _"Hello, Treize, I... what happened?"_ The look on his face must be obvious. God in heaven.

"02 identified me in the grocery store. I couldn't get him to let it go." It had been a decently acceptable plan for a while, quiet and low key and peaceful, so of course it couldn't last, and it put his nerves up tight.

 _"Ahhh. That would explain the three calls he's made, then. I was making dinner with Mariemaia."_ She frowned. _"Someone was bound to find out eventually. I had hoped Dorothy would be further along with the paperwork, but..."_ He could tell that she straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin. _"I'll handle it."_

It wasn't supposed to be how it went, at all, and he watched her miserably on the screen, leaning a hip against the edge of the countertop. "I don't think he recognized my voice. It..." He wouldn't necessarily have to stop working. It was important to have something to do, even if the rest of him felt like he was spiraling for a moment.

 _"It's fine."_ Her voice was gentle, and that just made him feel worse. _"I'll handle it."_ There was a pause, and then she asked, _"What did he say?"_

"He expressed disbelief. He asked if you knew. Because if not he'd have to tell you for security purposes. He asked if I was okay, and gave me his business card and number." Which if he'd been lying and had slipped off, at least gave a bit of a hook to perhaps re-bait him, and he fished into his jacket pocket to retrieve the card and hold both sides up to the camera. "I didn't say anything except that you knew."

He hadn't given away any secrets and that was important.

 _"Well, you know him. Sort of. He probably meant it."_ And was equally possibly tracking him, despite the fact that he didn't see anything. _"Those are the standard business cards, and we don't have anything in them that can be used to trace someone."_

It had to be showing on his face. He tossed the business card onto the table, and exhaled hard, trying to push some of the panic down. "I'll leave you to dinner. I'm sorry, Lady." Sorry that he wasn't handling it himself, sorry that he was in an awkward place between existing and not, and that she'd had to step in twice in two weeks when she had so much else to do.

 _"It's fine."_ Her smile turned wry. _"The only thing you've interrupted is us making a mess in the kitchen. I promise."_ She was too kind to him. _"You still have your meds, yes?"_ Which was prompting that perhaps he should take them, he supposed.

He didn't like to take them, but she had an excellent point just then. "Yes." He gave her a rueful smile as he took his hat off, and shrugged out of his jacket. "I'll go take them. I..." He glanced over his shoulder toward the door. "Thank you, Lady. Again."

_"You're most welcome. Good night."_

"Goodnight to you both." It wasn't a good time to talk to Mariemaia because he usually could put on a legitimate good face for her. He ended the call and meandered into the bathroom to fish his meds out of the cabinet. 

He supposed he could make a sandwich, swig a glass of wine, and crawl into bed early. No one would notice if he was quiet on the net that night, and sometimes sleep was very much the human equivalent of rebooting.

It was, he thought, the best decision he could make.

* * *

To be honest, it had been a fucking bad/weird stretch of days, and Duo Maxwell was nothing if not honest. Particularly with himself. No point lying about things, it just made life difficult, and who needed it to be any harder than it already was? Nobody. That's who.

But running into dead General Khushrenada took the fucking cake.

The thing with lookalikes was that they tended to look how a person used to look, five, ten, whatever, forty years after they kicked it. They didn't look like a person might if he'd been on, say, the wrong side of a firefight and maybe kind of thin and worn out looking. People changed, and lookalikes went for the last good photo of a person, not the reality of a life lived. 

And dude in the grocery store had definitely seen some shit.

He'd tried to get hold of Anne before he'd even left the store because some shit needed follow up PDQ. He hadn't tried to track the guy because... well. Because reasons, that was why. He'd take his lumps if it turned out that she didn't know about him because Duo had a pretty damn finely tuned gut instinct and it was working well for him. That guy wasn't up to causing trouble; he clearly just wanted to be left alone to buy his groceries and go back to hiding wherever the hell he'd been.

Of course the one time he tried to get hold of her super fast, she wasn't answering. He left a vague message and hung up after the third time. So then it was getting the rest of Wufei's groceries laid in from the half coherent list he'd been given, and then checking out with them. He let his brain kind of idle along on the walk back to Wufei's place, dragging a collapsible buggy Wufei kept behind him, wondering where a dude like that disappeared to for four years. He had some fair guesses and none of them were even remotely pleasant. His face was scarred, but not in a way that made him look all fucked up. It was just noticeable, Duo supposed, in ways that weren't unattractive or anything. He just looked older and tired and maybe like he'd jump out of his skin if somebody stopped to talk to him.

Which he had. He'd also tried without any useful conviction to bluff his way out of it, so either he didn't run into many situations where someone recognized him, or he hadn't been out and about for very long and didn't have a script ready. The whole thing had definitely freaked the guy out. 

His datapad rang and he picked up immediately, most of the way back to Wufei's place already.

 _"Hello, Wind."_ Just the lady he'd been needing. _"You seem to have needed me rather urgently."_

"Thanks, ma'am. Wow am I glad to hear from you. I uh, I ran into a friend of yours at the grocery store, maybe. I'm 99% sure it's His Excellency that I ran into buying milk. He said you knew, I sort of wanted to make sure you did because wow, it's been a hell of a week and it's only Monday."

She nodded, and wow, that was kind of a relief. At least he wouldn't catch hell for not tailing him. _"He called me as soon as he made it safely home. I admit, he was rather frazzled at the fact that he ran into you."_ Anne sighed. _"He was held captive after the Eve Wars by a faction trying to get information from him. We only learned of it a little over a year ago and it took time to track him down, unfortunately. He's not a harm to anyone."_ Except maybe himself, Duo was guessing.

"Okay. I kind of felt bad about threatening to tail him if he didn't at least answer me." He stopped, and put his back up against a wall, looking up and down the empty street outside Wufei's apartment. "You need any help there, ma'am?" Prisoner of war seemed right from the look of him.

_"Not just yet. And I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself for now. He's having a bit of difficulty adjusting to being part of the world again, as I'm sure you can imagine."_

"Yeah, it's kind of obvious. Right, won't tell a soul. But like if he goes squirrelly or I dunno. I have so many questions, honestly. Let me know if I can help out, ma'am." He leaned his head against the painted brickwork.

 _"Maybe one day. Maybe even soon, although meeting someone might be a bit of a setback."_ She sounded rueful. _"Thank you for keeping this quiet. I appreciate it, and I'm sure he does."_

Duo wanted to know how a dude went through day to day life and didn't meet anyone if he was out getting groceries and stuff. Or was it really that easy to be out and not have to interact with people? Wufei would know, but it was a shame not to be able to bring it up to him. "Okay. Sorry about calling you, ma'am. Have a good night."

 _"And you as well, Wind."_ With that, she rang off, and Duo sighed. Man, he hated secrets. Secrets sucked. Still, he could go to Wufei's flat and make fun of his grocery list. He was still pretty high from the pain meds so at least it would be entertaining.

It wasn't like a life threatening injury, but it was kind of a soggy gross one, and he could see why the meds were so great. It was a shame he was going to be by himself in the office for a few more days, probably the rest of the week if he were honest. 

He lugged the buggy into the building, and fired up the shitty elevator.

It clanked disconcertingly all the way up because whaaaat the hell. He was surprised Wufei hadn't insisted that he be allowed to work on it because Duo sure as hell would have by now. Then again, Wufei was great at avoiding shit he didn't want to deal with, so he probably just used the stairs. Then it wasn't his clanky creakyass problem. Duo waited every second for it to plummet to the ground, but it didn't, and the doors opened smoothly to let him step out, dragging food with him. He knocked once as a hello and then fished out the keys Wufei had given him to let himself in.

Wufei was on the couch, eyes closed, leg propped up with pillows, drool starting to sneak down his face because he was sleeping with his mouth open. A lot of people seemed to do that post-surgery, Duo had noticed, so he didn't worry about anything. He just put shit away, and anything he couldn't figure out, he left on the counter to ask about later.

He figured it went with getting someone else to help with the shopping -- shit ended up in weird places, as a rule.

Like the banana pudding got a front and center spot so it was there right when a person opened the fridge, just as God intended. A man had to take his laughs where he could, because he hadn't had enough of them recently.

He listened when Wufei started mumbling in his sleep, and he reminded himself that he needed to learn to speak Mandarin because the guy couldn't bother speaking Universal when he did that, no, he went straight to a language Duo didn't understand. Which, okay, yes, made sense, but it also made him ragingly curious. If observation was right, he'd wake up in the next ten minutes or so, stoned out of his gourd.

He kind of liked Wufei's company when he was whacked out, but he also sort of wanted to feed him and just put him to bed. Duo sacked out on the foot stool near the sofa, leaning back and flicking through his datapad. There was a note from Iron asking how they were both doing, which was nice. Polite. Copper would've probably freaked out on the radio, or maybe not, but she would've done something weird.

Iron just seemed... Duo didn't know. Staunch, steadfast. The kind of person who could handle it when shit went wrong without losing his own shit. Also, he kind of had the idea that Wufei was maybe developing a little crush on the guy. Five meetings over the phone and he seemed to have flipped the switch over to _this one is interesting_.

He'd seen it happen. Knew personally, because that switch was the same one that seemed to have flipped when he decided that Duo was all right and a worthwhile person as a friend. It wasn't one that got flicked often. Hell, Copper had downright made him back up, metaphorically speaking. Copper had driven him to, like, scraping a hole in the wall and cutting the wires that went to that particular switch. So it was good that Wufei could still flip that switch in his head where he decided someone they knew was... whatever. Okay, one of his. Whatever, however he thought of it that changed everything. 

He was glad that Wufei put up with him. He was glad to have friends who were like himself, who were kind of the metaphoric cockroaches of humanity. No matter how many attempts were made to kill them, they all seemed to come back stronger, and wasn't that a relief? After years of living through plagues and religious wars, it was good not to feel like the only one who'd had that experience, that whole weird bullshit.

Being alive when everyone else was dead really sucked. He flopped back on the big footstool and kept poking around on his datapad. He heard from Heero only sporadically, thinking about people who had some shit to work through. Trowa was around a lot more, but.

And Quatre was just all over the place, but he was definitely better at maintaining communication than everybody else.

"Mei?" Wufei mumbled. "No, Mu Ts... no. Hey. You."

"Yeah, sorry, man. It's just this idiot. You want something to drink?" He started to sit up, setting the datapad aside.

"Not an idiot." One hand waved around, floppy. "I want..." He seemed to think about it for a long moment. "I don't know what I want. 'm hungry?"

"Okay. Food you chew, or food you drink?" He mimed both at Wufei.

Wufei considered the matter for a long and very serious moment. "Food," he finally said. "That you eat."

Yep. Clear as mud. Pretty standard for Wufei's thought process on painkillers.

He sighed. "You know what. Pasta? Nah, fuck it, Mac and cheese. Yep. Let's do this." That was worth getting off the footstool for, and he got himself back to the fussy clean kitchen to grab the box he had just bought.

"Hey, Duo?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "Thanks."

And then he laid his head down and dozed off again.

Well, by the next time Wufei surfaced, he'd have a big bowl of mac and cheese which he also wouldn't believe he ate, and he could chase it with some banana pudding. Carbs were good for healing, right? And dairy had protein. Healthy all around.

Grinning at his own thoughts, Duo started cooking.

* * *

It had taken him longer than he'd expected to wrap up the threads of finance, payroll, and money transfers because he'd caught the tail end of other threads that needed to be followed through, and in the pattern of the wire transfers there was something, something familiar, something that he recognized from another data set, so he lost time down that rabbit hole, and then had to document all of it, lost time and all, to send back to Wind and Mercury.

It was Friday again and Anne hadn't said anything about bringing Mariemaia over, which meant he was at loose ends and needed to enforce a rest. Needed to step away so whatever part of his mind was engaged would solve the familiarity of the data set when he wasn't looking. It was, it was like a texture to the pattern, just, clearly the hallmark of the same people. He didn't know why he knew it, he just did, and that was the frustrating part.

Add in the fact that his mental health had required some chasing in the last five days, and, well. It was possible to say he was feeling just a little on edge.

The urge to over-lock the doors had ebbed, and he was back to loitering and looking out the windows again. It had to have been a confluence of problems; listening to Wufei get shot, seeing it, actually talking to his therapist, and then seeing a pilot, seeing Preventer Wind in person, hearing him say he had all the time in the world to figure out what was going on, it...

Treize was at least together enough to identify what had triggered him in that sentence, what had sent him into a tailspin, even if it had been both a true and otherwise innocuous statement. The man had all the time in the world. He had all the time in the world and a collar around Treize's throat, with his hands chained to the table and he wasn't going to talk despite it. Despite the sounds from down the hallway that he was convinced were just recorded tapes of someone else's session. There had been no way that there were that many other OZ prisoners still alive by then.

He flipped open his datapad and settled down in front of the window with his glass of wine to try to let it go out of his head.

The news was fairly standard, nothing that would imply the world might implode if he took an afternoon to do something else, but he shifted on to check his messages all the same.

Once the meds seemed to have worn off a bit, Wufei had been handling things that could be managed from someone's couch and he'd been messaging Iron with some regularity -- possibly because the book he had sent had tweaked his sense of humor. In fact, that was the most likely reason.

He was glad it had gone over well, because they were both brave beyond belief, skilled, cunning, yes, well drilled infantry, no. _'Think you're going in next week? How's the leg holding up?'_

The reply came almost immediately, which undoubtedly said more about Wufei's boredom levels than anything else. _'No. Staying home another week. Enforced vacation. The leg holds up long enough to stumble into the bathroom. Could be worse.'_

_'Work messenger isn't much of a vacation. Since you're housebound, any good movies?'_

_'Bored, bored, bored.'_

He shouldn't laugh at that, but it was impossible to help it.

He slouched a little in his chair, and glanced up at the skyline for a moment. Wufei was just downstairs; it was ridiculous, but he didn't know him. _'Haven't seen that one -- who's in it? Title's a bit esoteric, could be French.'_

It was possible that he imagined the laughter he heard. It was also possible that the windows were open since the afternoon had warmed up a little and the breeze was nice.

_'Chinese. Terribly into its own aesthetic.'_

It wasn't as if fresh air was a danger when one was trapped inside with one's own company. _'But I suspect it's beautifully shot, even if I wouldn't understand all of the symbolism.'_

 _'It's not so hard to understand. Feed it, water it, don't mention banana pudding.'_ Which came out of left field, but all right.

He took a sip of his wine. _'I'm broaching rule three, but banana pudding?'_

_'I don't like banana flavoring. Unless, apparently, hopped up on morphine. In which case, I do.'_

Duo talking to himself that night, crazy sounding but connected to something. _'So someone's taking care of you. That's good! Being injured by yourself is miserable'_

 _'Wind checks in on me. I'm accustomed to my own solitude for the most part.'_

He was getting too close to temptation, and looked away from the datapad for a long moment. Sometimes the words went away entirely, more than just his voice going away. _'Accustomed isn't always the same as enjoy.'_

This time, the message took longer to return. _'Yes.'_ And in another few seconds, _'This is the problem with down time.'_

 _'It is.'_ He took another sip of his wine and added, _'I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Too much time for reflection today.'_

_'It happens. You've never made me uncomfortable. Not that I can recall. Copper, on the other hand...'_

_'Took the official reprimand well. It might've finally sunk in for her that she was out of line. It might not have, but she's stopped talking about it.'_ She was a beautiful woman. Treize wasn't sure how often she'd been told no, but it obviously wasn't very frequent.

_'Being pursued is... strange.'_

It was a conversation that was definitely borderline inappropriate for the work chat system. Or it would be borderline inappropriate once he added a response, took it out of theorizing and collegial discussion of an abstract concept. _'It is. I wonder if everyone finds it strange and no one wants to talk about it. You can end up in relationships of obligation because of it, because how do you say no to someone who everyone else thinks you should say yes to?'_

 _'No.'_ With a smiley face. _'I'm good at no. But you're probably working and I should clean the wound, I suppose.'_ It didn't seem as if he wanted to go, but perhaps the conversation was too close somehow.

_'Actually taking a break. Data pattern looks familiar but loses the structure of it when I look too hard. Hoping a glass of wine and the sunset helps. Enjoy (?) your bullet wound swabbing.'_

_'I can take a look at it if you'd like. May not get the same feel for it you have.'_

_'You're off duty :) ahem. It's in the piles of reports you have waiting.'_

A long moment. _'I wouldn't dare look at them for fear of a second week of enforced vacation.'_ Lies, dirty lies, and damned lies. _'I'll get back with you about things. And Iron?'_ A long pause. _'Thanks.'_

'You're welcome. Enjoy your rest, Mercury.' He let it go there, closed the datapad, and closed his eyes for a moment, before focusing on his view. He should do something other than mope that evening.

The question was what.

* * *

Wufei had never thought he would sympathize with enforced stillness.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, he'd never actually been injured so badly that it was a requirement. Duo had caught him in the kitchen one afternoon, and for a guy who never got taller than 5'2", he was capable and had Wufei's injured body back on the couch before he could protest.

Then he'd ordered pineapple and pepperoni pizza, swearing that it was delicious and that Wufei needed a watcher.

That had been his very exciting Sunday night. He was going out of his mind and he could never tell Duo that or the invitations out after work would never end. There was privacy and time to himself and then there was the same without an option to leave when he wanted because he needed to be resting his leg. He couldn't get on his bike, either bike, and enjoy wide spaces and a touring kind of privacy. Wufei was fairly sure he'd be the first person to die in case of a zombie apocalypse at this point. He would be unable to bear his own company or everyone else's, would stick his head out, and that would be that. Sometimes he wondered about himself, particularly when he started considering bizarre concepts from several hundred years ago and found it pertinent to his own daily life.

All of that being said, he was so sick of his own company by Monday that he'd decided he was going to go and sit in the stairwell just to hear other people coming and going. It sounded a little weird, but there was something nice about it. It was sort of pathetic, but the bottom floors were well populated with smaller apartments that reached into the buildings next door, and it was at least life, because the weather was too brisk to leave the windows more than cracked without trying to heat the neighborhood. All he needed now was a yo-yo or a bouncing ball.

Maybe a slinky, but then he'd have to chase the damn thing down the stairs, and they never really worked quite right.

Still, it had been a good afternoon. A couple of kids from one floor down had been playing, and he'd gotten to throw the ball to them a few times. Their mother had come out to check on them and be sure that they weren't bothering him (or maybe check that he wasn't some kind of creepy molester, he wasn't sure which) but it had been nice, seeing people again.

He was excited to go back to work and it didn't say anything good about his life. Iron had been up on and off over the weekend. He kept all hours from what Wufei could tell -- sometimes up until two and not answering anything until ten in the morning again, sometimes disappeared by four and up at four again -- always turning out interesting, thoughtful analysis. The raid that had left him sitting on the stairs had yielded a huge amount of data.

He'd be a little appalled at himself for the strange crush he was nursing. Maybe it was fair turnabout after Copper, but Wufei didn't plan on pursuing him. It would make things awkward when he politely mentioned his wife and three children or something, and he could just as well nurse the quiet enjoyment instead, though he kept hoping the man would volunteer that he was single. He was probably too professional to ever say it outright.

He could hear the front door open and someone coming up the stairs, a steady tread. There would be one last burst of people coming back from work and then he would probably be out of entertainment. He needed to go make dinner as well, probably.

Or maybe he could call the Thai place down the street. That might be good, and they'd deliver to his door so no one could complain that he'd overworked himself or anything.

The steps kept on, echoing up the marble, and Wufei tucked loose hair back behind his ear, waiting with curiosity. His floor only had three other apartments on it, and he knew all of their occupants. Maybe it would turn out that it was the mysterious attic floor resident. He could hope to have his curiosity sated, anyway. Nothing wrong with that.

He imagined maybe a divorced father. Once in a while he'd heard other people, a child, and between that and the weirdly obsessive jogging, it seemed possible. 

And then the man turned the corner and stopped at the bottom, just in sight, and took a step backward.

Someone could probably have knocked Wufei over with a feather at that moment. He knew his mouth was open, and his eyes had undoubtedly gone wide, but what else could be expected?

Treize Khushrenada was standing at the landing between floors.

It was him. It was the man he'd coasted past at the cafe, except his hair was shorter and he was wearing a jacket. The ginger was grey around the edges, paler, and his eyes looked dull, but that jaw, that mouth and nose, they were impossible to mistake. Those eyebrows. He seemed frozen in place, staring up at Wufei.

Wufei might as well have been, too, and he opened his mouth, considering it. Thought better of it and closed it again.

And be damned if that magnetism he'd felt wasn't still there, strong and thrumming, and it had to be pheromones. There wasn't any other explanation. "Hi."

Well that probably went down as the stupidest thing anyone had ever said.

He watched the man’s lips part -- full lips, still a really nice mouth -- and then close, and he took another step backwards, slow, deliberate, and then once he was out of sight, Wufei could hear fast deliberate clatter of boots on the edge of the stairs. 

Holy fucking shit.

Just. Holy. What the. He didn't know what to do.

He had no idea what to do because Treize Khushrenada was alive and living on the floor above him.

His brain just kind of quit at that, because he didn't know what to do with it, and so he sat there for long minutes trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. He wanted to chase after him, but dammit. He couldn't.

...he should call Duo.

Wufei needed to call Duo, and he needed to wait. He lived on the fifth floor, and he would eventually have to come back. If nothing else to get whatever papers and, and he couldn't just disappear, it was too impossible. He managed to get to his feet, and he grabbed his crutches to make his way into his apartment. He needed his datapad and he needed Duo. He didn't dare close his front door just in case, for when the man came back. He'd have to come back. He lived there.

The fact that his brain kept tripping over that part said everything he needed to know, because fuck. Fuck.

Fuck.

His datapad was in his apartment because he'd put it there to keep himself from spacing out with it, he'd had enough of that. It took him a minute to find it, and when he called Duo he just... he didn't know where to start.

He just called Duo and waited until he picked up. He was outside, walking by the look of it. _"Hmn, hey man. You look weird, you okay?"_

For a given value of okay, he supposed. "I know who lives on the fifth floor." And he just couldn't wrap his brain around it. It made no sense.

Duo was giving him a deeply cautious, curious look. _"Okay, congratulations on solving the mystery. Why's it got you freaked out?"_

"You're going to think I'm crazy." Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he'd lost his damned mind.

 _"I might,"_ Duo agreed, _"I might not. C'mon man, nah you know what, I'm headed to your place now not mine because you look super weird. Do you have an infection?"_

"Of course not." Maybe he snapped it. "I was out sitting on the steps, listening to people. When I looked up, it was..." But he'd killed him. What the fuck. "Him." That lacked coherence. He drew in a breath. "Khushrenada."

_"Oh. Okay. Okay. Uh, stay there, and I'll be there in like ten minutes, maybe less, and, and we'll talk, okay? He seem okay?"_

Wufei shook his head. "I don't know." Apparently he didn't know anything.

He couldn't get over the shock on the man's face; he just hadn't said anything, and had stepped _away_ from a challenge. Had turned heel and fled. _"Okay. Okay. Fuck, at this rate we're gonna need a dart gun and a tracker. I'm hanging up now so I can jog okay?"_

"Yeah." He didn't need his hand held but he might be in shock a little. The world was tipped on its ear for him, and so he sat there with his datapad in his lap for what seemed like a long time, trying to get himself back in order.

"Okay. Hey. You okay?" Duo was standing in his open doorway, looking forward very his shoulder and then back at Wufei.

"I killed him." His brain still wasn't in working order. "He committed what was tantamount to suicide by rushing me. I killed him."

"Not so much." Duo had a weird expression on his face. "I ran into him at the grocery store last week. He's... like short hair, scarring on the side of his face, definitely not dead?"

Wufei nodded wordlessly. "That."

"I called Anne when I saw him. She knows he's around, I just didn't know he was _here._ Maybe..." Duo shook his head, stepped inside the apartment. "She didn't want me to say anything. Sorry, Wufei."

That made sense. Did that make sense? "She knows I live here." His brain was starting to work again. Maybe. "I would have to run into him eventually." Or maybe... maybe he was a second layer of security? But why?

That would make sense if an extra layer of security were needed. Perhaps it was because the building was already being monitored to a degree. "Okay. Yeah, you would have. And maybe that was on purpose, too. You wanna call her together? Or just... wait and see if he comes back."

Wufei felt his eyes narrow. "I'm waiting for him to come back." He started to push himself up with his crutches. "If you need me, I'll be on the fifth floor waiting so I can block the stairs and keep him from running away again."

"Okay. That's kind of a technique. Anne said he was a POW, do you really wanna, I mean, fuck, spook him?" Duo waved a hand side to side.

...oh. That changed things. Maybe? Probably. "No."

"Okay. Like, he was really stressed out when I talked to him in the grocery store. So maybe something lower stress, like... wait until he's gone up stairs and then knock on the door?" Duo was looking over his shoulder again.

With cookies. That was how neighbors welcomed one another, right? With baked goods. "Right." Right, that was a plan. "New plan. I need you to go to the store." And if that sounded like grim determination, well. Maybe it was.

"And bring back a dart gun? Because the general can probably really fucking run. Nah, really, what do you want?" To not think about the treadmill upstairs for a moment. "I'll go to the store."

"He runs all the time," Wufei told him. "I'll make a list."

Because who could say no to cookies?

He imagined it was very possible that the man might, but maybe with time to think, and a different approach, he... Wufei didn't know.

"Okay. Gimme your list."

* * *

Bars were an excellent place to hide; they were dark and full of solid wood and he could order something heavy that he was going to regret and nurse it, listening to the murmur of discussion around him and wish he wasn't there. No one recognized him. No one gave a shit, so he could sit there and drink and eventually pull out his datapad. He hadn't checked to see if Wufei had sent anything since he'd signed off to go to therapy. He'd complained he was going out of his mind.

Treize just hadn't expected him to be sitting on the stairs.

That had been a shock, and it had sent him running, a chant of _no, no, no, no, no_ running in his head. He wasn't prepared for that.

He wasn't prepared for anything.

Even so, he was curious enough that he needed to look. Or maybe he didn't need to look so much as he wanted to look.

Because he would take what he could get. He wanted... he wanted, and it was stupid flirting with him at work, through work when, he couldn't say a word to him in person. When it had left him panicking and it... it drove home the impossibility of it. Like meeting Lady again when it was all over, once he was out and free; she had been so happy, and he taken her to bed in a fit of bravado and she had been so disappointed. Because she knew him well enough to know that things had changed, it wasn't what she was looking for. If he could be something, without the expectation... 

Except he was still himself face-to-face and that was something he couldn't change. "One more please, and I'll close my tab for the night."

"Coming right up."

He couldn't keep himself from checking. There was nothing in the work app, but he hadn't expected there to be. They'd switched out of it sometime last week because they'd found themselves talking about things that weren't work, and it was just better to keep it separated.

There was a message in the app they were using. _'What do you do when you've frightened someone?'_

Irony. _'Is this better or worse with context? Apologize?'_

The response was almost immediate. _'It's a long story. I decided cookies were an appropriate apology.'_

He took a swig of his beer, contemplating that for a moment. 'Trying to think of things cookies are a good apology for. I've left someone a case of beer on their doorstep before.'

 _'There's no way to give an appropriate apology for_ I'm sorry I killed you, please don't be afraid of me. _There's nothing that would work for that._

_'Chocolates. Chocolates and beer. You might as well double up. Who came back from the dead?'_

_'Long story. Maybe another time?'_ So he'd probably called Anne and been given the speech about dying a long slow excruciating death if he said anything.

He imagined. He imagined that was how it went, and hopefully she wasn't looking for him. He was capable of taking care of himself, after a fashion; she trusted him behind unmanned weapons platforms. _'Your night sounds more interesting than mine so far. I'd like to see how the cookies go. You okay?'_

The reply took a moment. _'Yes. Shock aside. Usually people are only afraid of me if I have a mobile suit or a gun.'_

Or fire. Or explosions. He could see that.

 _'I'm afraid of having to watch you clear a room again. : > So maybe whoever it is has reasons that have nothing to do with violent fear.'_ And everything to do with personal fear, fear of failure.

_'Maybe. Thanks for the advice.'_

Why couldn't everything be just this easy?

_'I promise not to pry about whatever it is. But good luck, to both you and whoever is getting the cookies.'_

And that was that.

The barkeep smiled at him as he handed over his drink and leaned in to scan his chip. "Sorry, you looked busy. Figured I'd give you a minute."

"Thanks. Ongoing... thing." The man probably saw hundreds of them go right or wrong in a day, so he went with a neutral dismissal of the datapad that was now closed and a rueful smile.

What else were bars for but ongoing things?

"Have a good night." Easy as that and he moved on to the next patron.

He wondered if everyone found it that easy.

Treize was getting the feeling that the answer was yes, so he pocketed his datapad into his jacket, drained the dregs on the beer he hadn't quite finished, and started to savor the new one. And then he'd... face Wufei. Not run a second time. He hadn't been able to think when he'd seen him, sitting on the stairs in sweat pants and a T-shirt looking rumpled and... like something he couldn't have. Older than he'd been; the resolution on the platform video was relatively poor -- good enough to get a positive ID, not good enough to see the contours or the way a person held their mouth.

He looked the kind of good that Treize would have taken to bed and not thought twice about it, once upon a time.

Getting to know him as Iron had been a bad idea. Now he not only wanted him, he wanted _him_ , specifically. It wasn't the random desire he'd have had for someone in the before.

It was both better and worse than before and there was no way that it was going to end... end anything like how he wanted it to. He didn't even know how he wanted it to end, just... it would be nice to keep getting to know Chang Wufei as a person. The rest could follow.

He took another fifteen minutes to nurse that last beer, tipped heavily, and almost fell on his way out the door because it was a long step and he hadn't watched it.

Possibly he shouldn't have stayed so long or drunk so much.

But he still managed to make his way along, one hand trailing rails and buildings just to be sure that he was indeed walking in a straight line. By the time he made it back to the apartment building, he was sober enough to climb up the stairs without falling and smashing his face into the marble steps, so he thought perhaps he should be grateful for small favors.

He climbed the stairs warily that time, and stopped just shy of the landing before the fourth floor to listen. He wasn't going to run, but he wanted to be... prepared. Gather himself.

Just in case.

Everything was quiet. Not a peep, and he finally crept further up the steps, feeling ridiculous as he went.

No sign of anyone. He walked steadily up the stairs, holding onto the handrail, and fishing out his keys. It was fine. Wufei had probably passed out while Treize had finished drinking because painkillers and antibiotics were a wonderful combination.

There was no sign of anyone on or around his landing, either, and he glanced around cautiously just to be sure before turning left, keys out, and nearly tripping over a sturdy plastic container and a small cooler with a note on top of it.

He bent down to pick up the note first, to read it, while he absently opened the door to let himself in.

 _Sorry if I startled you._ The script was a little spidery, quick slashes of pen making a neat spiky scrawl. _Many apologies. If you'd like to return the items when you've made use of the contents, you can leave them at the door or knock._

He bent, carefully and aware he was still tipsy, and picked them both up. Once he was inside and had the door locked again, the chain in place, he set them on the counter to inspect.

It seemed Wufei had listened to him.

The beer was some kind of raspberry stout. Treize figured he'd probably had it in the refrigerator and was offering it up as a sacrifice. The cookies smelled amazing, chocolate and some kind of nuts. They were still just a little warm, too, and so he reached down and took a bite.

He sat down, feeling a bit wiped out and grateful for the cookie at the same time, and took his time chewing that bite, enjoying it. Wufei had baked him cookies as an apology. Or roped Wind into helping, and that was funnier, and maybe a little...

A little he didn't know. Sad or better, or both, because he was really okay most of the time and it was that gap between reality and expectation that he didn't know how or what to do to get himself out of it.

But the cookies were good.

So good that he ate another one. Maybe the raspberry stout wasn't a good choice with them, though, so he poured himself some milk, contemplating what to do.

His options were to avoid Wufei at all costs for the rest of his stay there; ask Lady to relocate him, which would solve nothing and take him away from a place, albeit an attic, where he was comfortable and felt at home; or face the challenge head on. He sipped at the milk a little, slowly, and then the last beer was perhaps starting to hit his blood stream. He went to relieve his bladder, washed his hands, and (embracing the bolster of liquid courage) grabbed the empty cooler to go down one flight of stairs.

He had to pause in front of the door to decide if he really wanted to do it or not, but after a long moment of arguing with himself, he raised his fist and knocked.

There was a yelp from behind the door. "Coming!" It was followed by the thud-thuds of crutches.

He suddenly had no idea what to do about his voice, or if he -- and then it was too late to step away, because he could hear Wufei opening the door. Fuck. He shifted his weight onto his back foot, always a good technique if one was going to try to dodge a blow, but unnecessary. It did give him a better look of Wufei, now. Up close, not two feet apart, and everything was easier in writing than words.

"Hello."

"Hi." Like it was easy just to greet one another, and then Wufei was shifting. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you." He stepped in, awkwardly holding the empty cooler like a peace offering, the unnecessary excuse it was. "I'm sorry about earlier. I. Didn't expect."

The sound of the door shutting behind him made his pulse quicken. "Nor I. You can put it down over there if you like." One crutch pointed to the end of a sofa. "I'll put it away later."

While he knew how Iron wished it would go, he had no idea what he was actually walking into as he warily set it down at the end of the sofa, half surveying the place in the warm lamplight. Perhaps the less he said, the better. "Injured at work?"

"Slight case of getting shot." Wufei's mouth quirked. "Sometimes the world is still a dangerous place. A bit less so, though, I think. Would you like to have a seat?"

He sat somewhat uneasily on the sofa, off to one side, letting his eyes drift to the altar Wufei kept, the sparse, half familiar decor of the place. He didn't look behind and to his left, at the bookcase. Barely. "You didn't kill me."

"I had noticed." If it happened to be a little snarky, well. Perhaps he wouldn't have recognized it if he didn't already have some familiarity with Wufei. "I... I think that's good. I didn't want to defeat you like that."

"I'm out of practice if you want to duel." He was going for a smile, trying to show he wasn't completely flat and serious despite his nerves. He had briefly had a pistol, his old one, in his things, and Lady had found and removed it -- something about coupling? -- so he certainly didn't have a sword.

One crutch waved as Wufei maneuvered himself to being seated. "I suppose we'd be less likely to cause harm if we tried these, but I don't think Anne would approve."

He turned a little on the sofa, facing Wufei, watching him. "I'm unsure which of us Lady would be more disappointed in." She probably expected more of Wufei than of himself on any given day, which was disheartening, but he let it lay.

There was a funny look on Wufei's face, his brows knit. "Oh, I expect we'd both get the riot act, in the end." He paused. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'd been wondering who moved into the attics."

"I try to be quiet. I'm sorry if..." He gestured to the ceiling, and left it at that. The less attention he called to himself and his occupancy of the attic spaces, the better. He wondered, too, what that funny look was.

"No, no. You are very quiet. I've never felt the urge to use a broom handle to beat on my ceiling," Wufei assured him. "I never quite understood OZ titles. Is Lady... somehow specific or?"

The question caught him sideways for a moment, but it was all very strange, sitting there, and he went with it. "Countess. She's a countess, was. Romefeller. Technically I was a duke."

That earned him a nod, and his brows came unknit. "Ah. I have a friend who also calls her lady, so I wondered."

"No one was sure if she was Une or Anne for a few months, so Lady... was easier." Safer. Had he called her that when they spoke? Was his voice still too close? He didn't talk enough to be sure, to know if a slight drop was enough to do it.

He didn't know what to say after that, and the silence lingered between them, uneasy.

"Are you... all right?" The question finally came, Wufei appearing disconcerted when he realized what he had asked. "Just, I..."

"After everything I did, why do you ask? The colonies..." They'd had their fun, and he looked at Wufei, surprised himself and held his eyes. He hadn't seen anyone who looked like Wufei in the lineup of abusers, no one from L5 alive to participate.

Wufei's chin notched upward. "It didn't end well for any of us who fought. Some worse than others. I..." His cheekbones were flushed just a bit. "Afterward. I was lost. For a while. Killing you, as I thought, and then victory, and then..." He paused, shrugged awkwardly. "All I had by then was killing. I ended up on L3, and I thought I was doing what was right. Or right by you. She was your daughter, and all I had left was the fight."

It still horrified him, and he hadn't put much thought into that when he was focused on Mariemaia alive and _now_ , because he'd missed out on then. "I wanted my death to end the war. Mari... has dinner with me once a week or so. She can walk a little. I didn't want another war." His heart rate was picking up, enough that he noticed, but he didn't feel panicked, yet. Not quite.

"It's ended now." Wufei seemed very sure of it. "It was the thing that made it all right to let go. In the end. Of what I did to you."

"You didn't do anything to me." Was he looking for absolution of a suicide that wasn't his? It made him feel worse for having used Wufei that way, for having wanted... To go out fighting someone who knew what it was to fight, and why.

"Didn't I?" He tilted his head, clearly thinking. "But all the same. My baggage is my own, and it took a lot to resolve it. Unfortunately." He looked at Treize. "But all the same, I'm glad you lived."

"I." Wufei was probably more confident of that than he was, and he watched Wufei, the set of his jaw, the bright alertness of his eyes. "On the balance, yes."

When he smiled, it softened his face, his eyes. His hair was still down, and god above, Treize wanted him. "Good."

Treize smiled back at him, feeling like an idiot, letting the silence stretch and settle comfortably. "You'll have to forgive me. I don't... speak a great deal anymore. Sometimes I just have no words."

"Companionable silence has its place. If you ever feel like you need that, then you can come and be silent with me now and then. I don't mind."

It was the oddest thing to offer him, and perhaps the kindest thing that had been extended to him -- not Iron, but him -- in months. "I would appreciate that."

Wufei nodded decisively. "I have more cookies if you would like. It makes a rather large batch, and..." He hid his face in his hand. "My work partner was here, so the recipe ended up doubled. He didn't think there would be enough."

"They're very good." The hand over his face made Treize smile a little because that was very much Preventer Wind. He was a good person, a good partner to Wufei. Mercury needed someone to protect and help him day to day. "But what you left me will probably last for a while."

Wufei let his hand slide down, covering his mouth. "I apologize. The drugs make me yawn."

"You need to rest." He needed not to overstay his welcome. He needed not to do anything stupid, like leaning forward to touch Wufei's hair, or. Anything beyond sitting still and nervous and awkward on the sofa.

"As much as I would like to say that I don't..." Wufei's mouth twitched. "I took the medication half an hour ago and I'm afraid I'll fall asleep sitting here if I don't get up now."

"Thank you for the cookies. And the beer." He stood up, before Wufei could get to his crutches. Letting himself out was the easiest thing, and then he didn't have to worry about any... Doing anything stupid. He'd crossed the gap once, he could do it again now.

"You're welcome. Thank you for returning the cooler." So polite when what Treize really wanted was to reach out, muss his hair. Kiss him perhaps, and it was so difficult to walk away just then.

He'd have to bring back the container the cookies were in whenever he finished them. That was a standing excuse, so he nodded as he reached the door, and fuck if his hand didn't slip awkwardly on the lock, it was a lock, it turned right on all the doors, before he managed to open the door and let himself out.

He made it to his own landing before he took a deep breath, walked straight into the wall and thumped his head there lightly before he let it out again.

"Yo."

"Christ!" That was what he got for not checking the corners, and he spun and took a quick backstep that just put him up against the wall better as he stared at Duo.

The little bastard laughed. "Sorry. Sorry, uh, I came back by to check on things. I think I ate too many cookies to sleep, you know? But I heard you talking so I thought I'd just slip up here so maybe neither of you would notice. Only then I did fall asleep and you thumped your head, so. Yeah. The tale of my exciting Friday night."

He reached into his pocket for his keys, still watching Preventer Wind with caution. "Goodnight." He didn't want to talk, he wasn't sure half of what Duo was going to say at any given time, and he could berate himself better in the privacy of his own home.

"Sure, yeah, but just so you know... you're gonna want to tell him at some point." Treize turned his head, looking at the man as he stood and dusted off the seat of his pants from where he'd been sitting on the floor.

"Tell him what?" He had the key stuck in, ready to flip the deadbolt, but it struck him quite suddenly that he already knew what Duo meant.

Duo leaned a shoulder against the wall. "He's not like me. I like to flirt and I like to date and I don't like to take it too seriously. When he's in, he's all in, and I think he's probably nursing a few feelings there, Preventer Iron. He likes you. I don't think you're the same guy you used to be, so don't consider this some form of me warning you off. On the contrary, I keep telling him he needs some company that's, you know. Not work related. And okay, you being you, that does kind of make it work related, I guess, but at the same time not so much. Right? See where I'm going with it?"

Work related but not. He grimaced, and flicked the lock, pulling the key out and positioning it to open the bottom lock. "It's easier when it's not..." He shook his head, mouth tight for a moment. "I'm doing my best."

"It probably feels like an invasion, huh? Yeah, sorry about that. He's my friend and he's my partner. I'm pretty sure he'd stab someone for me, mostly because he has, but y'know. It's returned is what I'm saying. And so far, I like you pretty okay, too." He could tell there was a full on grin being given. "So if you need somebody given a talk, I'll volunteer for you, too. Plus, you're not nearly as scary to him as Copper."

"That's a very low bar." His voice dropped a little when he said it, and dammit, now he could hear it himself. "Thank you, Wind. I'm... a little drunk and tired. Goodnight."

Duo laughed. "Goodnight. Oh, and hey, Treize?" He braced himself. "He hasn't caught on, but I have this feeling that you might be able to get past his whole _I don't sleep with people until I've known them a bajillion years_ thing. Just a feeling." And then he went down the stairs, chuckling quietly to himself.

He hadn't braced himself quite strongly enough for that strange piece of information, and stood there for a moment before he opened the door to enter his apartment. Didn't sleep with people until he knew them for a long time. No, he didn't know Treize at all, and he hardly knew Iron, and that... he still didn't know what to do. He'd made everything complicated and he needed simple. 

Treize locked the doors behind himself and headed for the bedroom, turning out lights in his wake.

* * *

Finally.

 _Finally_ Anne had said he could come back to work, mornings anyway, which was better than nothing. He was weaning off of some of the drugs so maybe he'd manage the afternoons, too. He was sure she wouldn't notice if he stayed just a bit longer than he should

Duo would, though.

It was a relief to be going back in, to at least change up his routine. It had been two weeks of reading emails and some chat, just what Iron and Duo told him about both the thread he was pulling, threads he had pulled, and Duo bitching about how Wufei was going to have to be in the office and read the report before he could submit it because not everyone got to work from home with a full hookup.

Wufei supposed that counted as shade at Iron. He didn't know the man's circumstances but he was clearly ex-OZ because he used Lady instead of Anne. Wufei's guess was that maybe he was one of the pilots who'd survived and been disabled somehow. Obviously he was very good at his job and well worth the effort of making allowances. He was terribly fond of Iron, and it grew worse every day, which... It had been a bad idea. He worked with the man. He was their eye in the sky, he was overwatch, and Wufei knew he'd smudged lines here and there with their chats. He knew Iron was single or at least divorced from a throwaway line abut custody, and was guessing he was at least bisexual. But that was a vibe, and Wufei knew he shouldn't have been considering either.

The man had a lovely brain, and it was easy.

Treize was not easy.

Treize was awkward silences and sidelong glances, obvious discomfort at some things and sheer obliviousness at others. He was still just as sexually attractive as he'd been the first time they'd met, and that made Wufei feel things. Mostly it made him feel annoyed with himself because normal people didn't worry about it. People just went out and they got laid and they had a good time. Wufei was okay with himself -- he was. It was just utterly disconcerting and he had no idea what to do about it. He was maybe more sexually attractive because they weren't at war, but Wufei didn't know how to get from awkward silence, to... anything. Anything at all. The man was clearly... Something. Broken wasn't the word, damaged was a little too far. Glued back together badly and he had no idea what had happened except that Treize Khushrenada, who had probably never walked past a podium in his prior adult life without idly doing a mike check, was very quiet.

And fuckable. Wufei wondered if that made him shallow. Particularly when there was a knock on the door -- three quick firm raps, where Duo went for shave and a haircut two pence.

Levering himself up, Wufei made for the door. He'd graduated to a cane even though things were still scabbed over under there, but hey. It made for easier moving around than the crutches and hurt less under his arms, so that was all to the good.

A glance through the peephole revealed his visitor and he backed up to open the door. "Hi. Come in."

He held up the empty container the cookies had been in as an excuse and a shield, smiling tightly. "You're moving better." And he was... gorgeous. Effortless, slacks, shoes, and a sweater over a button down, sleeves pushed up in a way that hit all of Wufei's ability to have feelings in his pants. It was unfair. It had to be pheromones.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a part of him wailed in despair and another part reminded him of how good sex had been. "Yes, moving has gotten a bit easier. It's healing. Thanks for bringing it back. Would you like some tea?"

He missed the feeling of naked skin on skin other than his hand on his own dick. He was too familiar with that feeling. He missed being face down on a bed, whimpering and begging, being fucked senseless, and he hadn't been able to keep from thinking about that since it had crossed his mind sometime Wednesday when Iron had quipped something about the importance of propriety in public spaces and throwing it out the window in private. "Please." Rather than sitting down, he lingered, standing. "Tell me how to help."

"It's a tiny kitchen," Wufei told him, moving toward it. "The tea I usually drink is on the lower shelf, but there are others that you might prefer on a higher one. If you wouldn't mind choosing from the first cabinet, I'll fetch cups. I'd just turned on the kettle so it ought to whistle any moment."

"My timing was good." He moved to the directed cabinet and opened it, reaching for the tea that Wufei had indicated without stopping to look at anything else. When the kettle started to whistle, he reached to take it off the heater base.

Wufei gathered cups and saucers then pulled out a plate and located some chocolate almond croissants to put on it. He had a sweet tooth and it went well with his tea, so why not? "Would you rather sit at the table or on the sofa?"

It took too long for Treize to answer while he gathered things up to move them for Wufei, mindful of the cane. It was hard to tell what he was thinking as he looked between them, and the familiar awkward silence settled. "Table, I suppose."

Awkward was fine. It was at least familiar, because Wufei had become accustomed to it. He wondered frequently about the Treize of Before and if he had been hiding the same sort of thing back then. Probably not, but who could say? He hadn't known the man except as a public persona, a living piece of bravado who was willing to sword fight a pilot when a Gundam landed on his ship. They settled at the table and the man rubbed at his eyes for a moment. "Do you return to work soon?"

"This morning, actually." He settled down with the plate and the cups, pleased with himself. "I was grateful to be out of the apartment. Of course," he mused, "then I came home and fell asleep. Healing is hard work."

"It is." Treize leaned to pour water into Wufei's cup once he had doled them out. "You'll find setbacks when and where you least expect it."

"Mmm." After that, they settled in, quiet and companionable. It was still strangely awkward but also not. Wufei thought things felt less lonely this way. "You look nice, are you going somewhere?" And then he flushed because that wasn't quite what he should have said, he thought.

"Therapy." It got him a bright grin, and a sly cant of his eyes in response, like the man was appreciating his flushed response. "Lady insists. I haven't made best use of it."

"Ahhh." Yes. He probably should be in therapy, too, he supposed. "I... should possibly have considered therapy before going to war," Wufei decided. "Do you like your therapist?"

"She... seems to understand." There was a pause, and he sipped the tea, watching Wufei, an expression on his face like he was weighing his words. "I didn't talk to her for almost a full year. For an hour every Monday. She brings knitting."

"I suppose she would have to if you didn't talk to her for a year. Perhaps it gives her something to do with her hands?" Wufei knew people like that. Duo fiddled with handheld things all the time.

Treize turned the cup idly in the saucer. "I've been trying to..." His mouth quirked a little. "Work with her more." And perhaps that actually meant talking to his therapist rather than stonewalling her to an impressive degree. "You might get something out of it."

He hummed by way of answer, picking up his cup and blowing across it lightly. "Bring her card, if you'd like." It was entirely possible he would. Wufei was all right with his own vagaries for the most part, but sometimes things rose up and bit him.

His job, his past, there were a lot of 'things' that could rise up and bite. Just trying to sort his head out when he was dealing with the man who was sitting across at an angle from him. "Mm. How..." He exhaled a huff, the edges of his mouth working without quite opening. "Fuck, this is hard. I'm sorry."

Wufei tilted his head to the side, thoughtful. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because I want to do this." He rose up from the chair slightly, fingers sliding lightly across his cheek and then back, slipping through his loose hair, fingers against his scalp.

How in all that was holy was he supposed to resist that? He was looking up, and he sighed when the massage began, tipping his head, lips parted. "Ohhh..."

Treize leaned the rest of the way in, fingers moving against Wufei's scalp as he kissed him, a soft touch of mouth against his, at first. He tasted like toothpaste and tea, and heat when he pressed more, and Wufei opened for him, let his tongue delve into his mouth in an easy searching motion.

He could barely remember the last time he'd felt like this, warm and open and _wanting_ , and never quite this way that he could recall. An involuntary whine shivered in his throat. Treize's other hand came up, touching the side of his neck, sliding to the back, tipping his head a little, and it was an awkward position, kissing at the table, but he didn't want to move, and felt more than heard Treize groan against him before Treize finally pulled back.

"Oh," Wufei said, dazed. "Oh. That was..." Amazing. Fabulous. He wanted him to do it again.

Many times, and it was unexpected when Treize moved his hands, moved Wufei's chair back and turned it a little, scraping it on the tile floor with an easy motion. The corner of the table had been digging into his hip, and the reposition came as he rounded that slight corner to do just what Wufei wanted, to kiss him again, leaning in easier this time.

This wasn't something he just did. Ever, but that mouth was so tempting, so sweet, that he couldn't help it. He leaned forward into it, got a hand on the back of Treize's neck and tilted his own head so that the position felt more natural, more perfect. Wufei groaned, and his tongue teased against Treize's, drawing it in and caressing across the bottom of it.

Perfect.

Treize pulled back, kissed at his bottom lip, breathing a little hard. Wufei was liking the awkward half kneeling in front of him, the way it gave him more contact, Treize moving a hand half-wonderingly against his back. "Easier to do than say."

"Oh." Wufei knew he sounded breathless, but there was no helping it. "Don't be sorry for that, it was..." A shuddery sigh made its way out of him. "Wow."

"Want..." He kissed at Wufei's jaw, a slow motion, fingers of one hand cupping the back of Wufei's head, crouching up a little better. "Have wanted."

"Oh," Wufei said again. It felt ridiculous, but he leaned in again because this? This was that pull, the thing he'd felt in the pit of him the first time he'd seen Treize Khushrenada, and it was irresistible. When their lips met this time, he was a bit more urgent, a bit more needy. He wanted to take it further, wanted to follow that heat as far as it would go. The hand against his side slipped down, rucked up his shirt a little while Treize kissed him, and then there were warm fingers against his back and side, stroking. It could have only been better if they had been naked on the floor instead of him in a chair. "Yes." Because that was the answer, of course it was. "Oh, yes, that." That felt amazing, and he was so hard, fuck, he wanted him so much. Some part of him in the back of his head was embarrassed to find that he was this easy, and the rest of him was firmly aware that any part of him who didn't love this could fuck right off because _yes_.

It had been too long, _far_ too long; someone he wanted was touching him, kissing him hotly, fumbling open the button and zip on his pants even as he kept kissing him, eating at his mouth and then delving back in until Wufei felt overwhelmed, and that was before the hand on his side slipped down to palm his cock upright

He cried out, pulled his mouth away to gasp for breath, head tilting back, and that mouth found his neck, found that one spot just below his ear, and he begged a little then, shuddering, spilling out dazed words that told him _yes_ and _please_ and _oh god right there_.

Treize kissed and sucked and bit at that spot, stroking his dick with a firm touch in counterpoint, until it was all he could feel and think about, the two shuddering sensations that were all focused on him. And then the kissing stopped, and Treize, still dressed properly, eased back, stroking Wufei's dick and settling on his knees before he kissed the head of Wufei's cock.

"Oh my god." He sounded dazed because he was dazed, utterly and completely, his hand going to cup the back of Treize's neck. "Are you... are you sure, are you?" He didn't know, precisely. "Because I, I want to touch you back, I want..." Oh god.

Oh god, and Treize wasn't saying anything, lips parted, and he kissed the underside and licked his bottom lip, making eye contact. Firm eye contact, while he tipped his head down and closed his lips around the head of Wufei's dick. That felt like he was sure.

Wufei gasped, eyes lifting heavenward and then closing. His hands were roaming, petting Treize, trying not to muss his hair because, because why again? Oh, he didn't remember and it didn't matter, nothing mattered just then except the way he was touching him, sucking him, stroking him.

Felt so good, and he could lose himself to it, to the hand that was braced on his hip, the one that was stroking his side and his stomach while Treize bobbed and sucked, a skilled and careful wet slurp that was driving him on.

He shook, so close, so close just from this, and he tried hard not to come, not yet. Not yet, but Treize kept on and he was so very good at it that Wufei couldn't stop it, in the end. He came with a low cry after only a few minutes, left dazed and shaking and wanting to return the favor.

Treize shifted and swallowed, licking his lips. He slid a hand around Wufei's back, and then leaned into him. No words, nothing said, just leaned into him like it was a comfort, still kneeling between Wufei's legs.

"Hi." He sounded breathless, dazed, and he wasn't even the one who'd been on his knees. "I want to do that for you, too." His hands were still roaming, still soothing over shoulders, neck, anything he could reach.

There was an odd rhythmic buzzing from against his back, and Treize nodded against him before starting to pull back. "I'm out of time." He pressed a kiss low on Wufei's stomach where his shirt had ridden up, above his softening dick, and then started to stand up.

"No," Wufei protested, the bulge in Treize's pants visible. "Well. Yes, if you must, but will you come back, will you...?" He felt flustered. "I, I don't do this. Normally. It's not, that is, I do, but I..."

Ugh, he was making a hash of it.

He leaned down to kiss Wufei again, and now he could taste himself, a suggestion of musk and salt on Treize's mouth against his own. "I'll bring dinner?"

Wufei nodded, then leaned to steal another kiss. "Yes, please." Because he'd never wanted anyone this way in his entire life.

It was absurd how much he wanted it. Treize nodded once and stepped backwards, grabbing the lukewarm tea cup to down it in one swig. "Have to go." It was unreal, and he felt exhausted all over again, shaky and boneless post orgasm.

"Okay," Wufei said, even if he didn't want to. He wanted to take the man and curl up in his bed for a short nap and then go again. "Okay. Be careful."

He didn't know why he said that, while Treize let himself out; he was moving quick, mindful of the time so as not to be late to an appointment where he possibly wasn't talking to anyone there. It made him wonder if Anne was holding something over his head or if he just thought she was. He hadn't talked to Anne about what he knew, and now he wasn't sure he could say Treize's name without turning bright red and imagining him kneeling between Wufei's legs, sucking cock like a professional. So good, and the hand in his hair, the kisses, all of it was so good.

And he really did need a nap now.

Well. He had time for it, and then Treize would be back with dinner.

For now, Wufei decided it was the best plan he had.

* * *

He was glad of the walk to his therapist's office, glad of the cold air on his face to bring him to his senses a little. He had meant to kiss Wufei, to touch his hair, to try to get over that gap of connection he was struggling with. He just hadn't planned to go quite so far so quickly. The feeling of skin under his fingers, the way there was something in the way Wufei inhaled, gulped air that made him shiver, push on to try to get more.

Leaving him like that, dazed and sleepy and longing, was harder than anything he had done in a long time.

Still. He had an appointment and he needed to go to it even if he had wanted very much to stay and see every inch of him, make him shudder and cry out beneath him.

He had to stop thinking about it before he ended up in his therapist's office, or he should have been able to stop thinking about it but couldn't. The sensation snips clung to his mind as he walked, overlapping and knotting up strangely with other things. Fingers at the back of his neck, soft and petting or hard and gripping, choking, and he let them filter through as vividly as they wanted, both types, passively sorting as he jogged up the stairs, taking off his hat and scarf as he stepped into the waiting room.

"Hello, Mr. Rauta." The receptionist smiled at him as he signed in and then he went to sit. As usual, it wasn't a long wait before he had been called back and led to his therapist's office.

Today she had a sock form and different yarn and was frowning at it with intense concentration. "You know, I'm determined, but I'm not sure even determination is sufficient for my purpose. What do you think?"

He tilted his head a little, looking at it as he sat down. The shape was wrong. And the sky outside was cloudy and uninviting, that turn from the last nice bit of fall to the darker hours that spanned out over the day in grey. "It could be a hat."

She hummed. "And a mouse could be a bat if it had wings. Looks like I'll be starting over. I never can do the right stitch is the problem." Dr. Tullos picked up another project and the soothing click clack of her knitting needles began. "You look... hm. I'm not sure."

Treize lifted an eyebrow at her. "I look?" He struggled with how he looked; too much like himself, his old self, and he crossed lines, got into trouble, invited trouble. And for a long time he'd looked like a captive, hadn't seen himself in a mirror for years, didn't have a proper conception, didn't want one.

The good doctor began counting stitches. "Happy, I think. It's not the face you usually turn outward to the world."

"I spent time with the colleague who was shot." He didn't give names, even if she probably knew. Between he and Lady and whoever else from the Preventers saw her, he imagined she could map out their patterns of life, their missions, their comings and goings, from innocuous comments picked out of their idle thoughts.

It bothered him, made him not want to talk. He had tried so hard not to say anything for so long, not to give away sites and personnel and things that the world was still using, resources and factories that were still active now.

"Ahh. I take it that he's enjoyable company for you?" Click clack. Clack.

"Yes." He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling and exhaling slowly for a moment to wrest it under control, and she was still knitting when he opened his eyes and he was able to let go of those thoughts. "I need help."

Her needles paused and then continued as smoothly as before. "Tell me more about it."

He wondered if they had kept records, and if any existed, she had seen them. It didn't matter, he supposed, though she had put up with an infuriating amount of silence to have not been warned. "Communicating. I." He glanced out the window, and it wasn't giving him any more help than it had a few minutes before hand, but it was something else to look at. "When I was captive, they went to great lengths. I didn't talk. There are things they did that interfere with things I want to do."

"What was it like? When you met your colleague? It obviously bothered you a great deal when he was wounded." Clack clack.

"I didn't expect to see him. I ran away the first time." He felt rueful, restless sitting there, telling her that. "He doesn't know I'm his colleague."

The clicking stopped. "And that's why you want help communicating?" It was a question but it felt more like a statement.

The silence stretched for a moment, before he nodded. "Yes. It's easier to write. I want..." Not to have been caught up in playing that odd game with himself; to be the same person face-to-face that he was on paper.

"Hmmm." He wasn't sure why he found the sound of the knitting to be comforting, but he did. "Do you feel comfortable that the things you write down are representative of how you feel? That they're more true to your feelings?"

"Yes." Elaborating out loud was hard; it felt like too much, too risky. "I feel like myself. Out, talking..." he shook his head slightly, and looked out the window again.

The knitting slowed and halted. "You spent a long time in captivity. Every incident where they tried to make you answer them caused you stress and pain. It sounds like your immediate response to stressors is to stop talking as a result." He didn't look in the window's reflection. He knew she was looking at him. "I'd like you to try an exercise for me, if that's all right."

"Okay." He was game; if he ever wanted things to be better, to be able to deal with situations better, he needed to start somewhere.

"I'd like for you to keep a journal, or even start a letter collection. Starting this week, write down all of the things that you want to talk about and feel as if you can't discuss out loud, and when you're comfortable that what you've written is what you want to say, come and read it to me. Does that sound like something you can do?" Her knitting picked up again.

Taking the words out of the situation. Treize looked at the window's reflection, watched her knitting for a moment. "I'll try." There was no reason why he couldn't try, and maybe actually succeed.

He caught her smile. "That's good. I hope that will be helpful for you. Now, why don't you tell me about your colleague?"

She wasn't going to get much of an answer, but he struggled on despite it.

The session ran long, and he pulled out his datapad on his way out to order Thai so it would be there for pickup by the time he got to the store.

 _'So. I've... met someone?'_ It was a question and yet also a statement. Hm. The time was not five minutes before he'd walked onto the street.

 _'Congratulations. It's hard in this line of work.'_ He'd met someone, and that made him smile a little as he walked.

 _'He's charmingly awkward.'_ No one had ever called him that before. _'I know we've been talking. I thought it was right to tell you.'_

He stopped for a moment, leaning back against a wall once he was sure he wasn't in anyone's way. 'I appreciate you telling me. I still enjoy talking to you. So how's this charmingly awkward guy?'

 _'Different than I expected. Not in a bad way. I only realized where it might lead this afternoon.'_

_'Fear not; you haven't led me on. I'm glad you've found someone.'_ He wanted to say, _I hope you like Thai food,_ and managed to stop himself. He started to walk again.

_You're kind. Thank you._

_'I'll see you around tomorrow. Signing off for the night.'_ Quite literally. He flicked it over to do not disturb, and tucked it safely back into his jacket. It was just another couple of blocks to get there, and another two more to get to the apartment complex.

By the time he made it back, food in hand, he was almost giddy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a day like today had been, and it led his feet up the stairs more quickly than usual.

He knocked and waited, knowing Wufei had looked rather done in when he'd left; charmingly awkward was more than sufficient. When he opened the door, there were still pillow lines on his face. "Hi." He seemed shy, or maybe he was just still sleepy.

"Hi. I hope you like Thai." He half wanted to ask Wufei how he felt about eating in bed, but that was direct.

So were blowjobs with tea.

"I love it. Come in." He stepped back from the door and held it wide for Treize to walk through.

He stepped in again; there was only the bedroom light and the light by the door on, so Wufei had been sleeping hard while the sun set. "Earlier. It wasn't too much?"

Oh. That. That was such a soft look, lashes lowered, mouth a gentle curve. "Ah. I, no? I don't think so, just.. unexpected."

He often liked to be unexpected, and it had gotten very, very good. Treize stood there for a moment. "Where would you like to eat?"

"Usually I'm by myself so I just eat on the sofa?" They could sit closer that way. There was nothing Treize disliked about that.

"The easy way." He set the food on the coffee table, and sat down, glancing over at Wufei as he moved to settle in. "Mariemaia prefers not to eat at the table."

"Is she doing well?" Wufei seemed genuinely interested as he situated himself in the corner of the sectional sofa, his back to the windows. It was incredibly convenient as it meant Treize could sit on whichever side he wanted and be as close as he liked.

"She's walking, sometimes. Short bursts." He settled in close, back to the wall, sorting the utensils and handing them to Wufei. "It tires her out."

Wufei nodded. "The shot was quite close to her spine. Some of the damage was..." He shrugged as if that said it all. "She was so young at the time. She shouldn't have been where she was, I." He paused. “ I should have done something. I suppose."

"The war wasn't done with you. Pad woon sen," he offered, "or spicy mango?" She had the best of care with Lady, and that was the important part. She was being cared for and everyone around her wanted the best. "Have you seen her since?"

"Spicy mango," Wufei chose, and accepted it when Treize handed it to him. "And no. Sometimes she comes by the office after physical therapy. I wouldn't want to upset her. She's just a child."

"She is." He opened the rice, offering it to Wufei first. "She has terrible taste in movies. Tiny unicorns. And cats." He gave a sideways look at Wufei, smiling.

Wufei's head was down and his cheeks were warm with color. "About earlier? I, I don't usually..."

"I'm sorry." He managed to keep his smile in place, waiting to see where Wufei was going. "I know it. I." He glanced toward the window like it would have an answer for him. "You feel very good."

Oh, that flush. "I don't usually like people. That way. Until I know them. You're..." His fork twirled awkwardly through his food. "You've always been different."

Treize put a bit of rice and meat together, watching him. And this was the problem, in a way. "We could do it in the wrong order."

"Then we have a good start?" Wufei's fork rose and dug into the rice finally, a bite tucked into his mouth. 

Yes. He nodded, and got up after a moment to get water for them both. "Are you happy?"

A deep shuddery breath slid from Wufei's lips. "Yes?" And then with more certainty. "Yes."

Treize sat back down, offering him water. "In this city? In the Preventers?" He settled just a little closer, picking up his fork again.

"Are you inviting me to run away with you?" Wufei asked, taking the water and thanking him. "I think so. It's the best use for my talents, I think."

"This is where I ran away to." One of the great ironies of the world, coming back to a pacifist country to help run military operations out of it. Again. "How did you get shot?"

"On a mission." Wufei took another bite. "Our eye in the sky wasn't impressed with our ability to clear a room." His mouth twitched. "So he sent a how to for dummies."

He could barely keep the smile from cracking his face. "That bad, then. Any good tips from it?"

Wufei's face was carefully blank, but he could see the amusement behind those eyes. "Don't get shot."

"That's not a very useful chapter heading." He added more rice to his own bowl, and nudged the rest towards Wufei. "What's the subheading, 'duck'?"

He took it and dumped more rice into his own. "Yes." Then he looked at Treize and smiled, pleased with himself. "You're very..."

He waited, a tilt of his head saying he was listening, but feeling no need to encroach. There was time, and he had always been a good listener when someone wished to talk. Keeping the guessing game in his head in check was something new he'd had to learn because it hadn't been there before, trying to anticipate what was coming next.

Wufei shrugged. "You aren't what I expected when I scaled down my Gundam to fight you hand to hand. I don't know." His fork dawdled through his food again. "Still devastatingly handsome, just older. Still like a magnet."

Treize was desperately glad of that. "Devastatingly handsome. I'll have to have that framed. You expected... someone else. I'm..." The lights were dim, warm, and the sofa was comfortable, while he struggled with the urge to go silent. "Not quite that man anymore. My bravery went. You were magnificent climbing down from that Gundam."

Dark eyes blinked, slow and thoughtful. "No," he said finally. "At the core of you, I think you are. We all change. We all have... bad times." His fork punctured a piece of mango. "We all have regrets and problems facing certain things. No," he said again. "Your bravery isn't gone. It's just got a different focus now."

"Getting up in the morning isn't very brave." Except most days it felt like it was, because for every one very good day there were at least a handful of bad or low key displeasing ones. "And while I would have told my soldiers that it is. I." Expected more of himself.

"That's how humans work. We all expect more of ourselves, even when it's unreasonable." Wufei shrugged. "But I think you're brave. That matters, doesn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it does. I respect your opinion." He didn't have to think or struggle with that one, and the urge to kiss him was only slightly outweighed by the memory of just how damn hot the mango was.

He wasn't wrong about the heat of the mango, and in combination with the heat of Wufei's mouth, it was worse, and yet.

And yet.

"We're going so fast." It was a whisper against his lips when they parted. "We're going so fast and I've never gone this fast before. I don't know how this goes."

He kissed at the side of Wufei's mouth, relaxing at the contact, the closeness. "We can slow down. I can slow down. Any way you want it. It, however you want it to go. Show me, tell me." That hadn't been what Lady had wanted, she'd wanted him _back_ , because he knew everything to do and it was different. There was no before and after to upset Wufei.

"What I want..." Wufei bit his lip. "Is actually to speed up."

He chuckled against Wufei's mouth, and pulled back a little to look him in the eyes. "Not what I expected to hear." But it was good, and he leaned the rest of his body in, scooting closer.

"Not what I expected to say," Wufei breathed, blinking. "I'm usually... I'd known my wife our entire lives. And my partner after she died for almost as long. I've never... except for you."

What a terrible choice he was making, and yet it was flattering, and he wasn't going to discourage him at all because he wanted. "I haven't done, I." He closed his own eyes, and leaned in to kiss Wufei again, collecting himself. Stress caused the problem, it was a stressful moment for all that it was exciting. "Haven't since. Not sure when, if, fast will hit a wall. Do you have lube?"

"Yes. Yes, I, and, ah. And condoms." For a man who didn't move fast, he had supplies, but in Treize's experience, it made cleanup easier with toys.

Which meant there were toys.

He kissed him again, relaxing into it, nudging Wufei to lean back into the sofa a little, one hand plucking at the buttons of Wufei's shirt. "Dildos?"

Treize felt Wufei's hand clench in his shirt, saw the utter flaming blush that crept over his face. "Y-yeah."

"How big?" He skimmed his thumb over Wufei's collarbone, feeling his dick ache as he thought about a lovely possibility for another night, Wufei on his knees on that sofa, hands tied behind him, thick dildo up his ass while Treize sucked his cock and kept him just, just on edge.

"Oh god." He was shaking now, and hard, so hard, enough that Treize could reach down and touch him if he wanted, could make him fall to pieces right there. "There are, are different sizes." Different ones, and that blush was still there, his mouth open and trembling.

He kissed Wufei's bottom lip and didn't pull back, moved a hand to grasp Wufei's fingers, comforting and enjoying the touch for a moment before he brought Wufei's hand down to the edge of Treize's erection, and let go. His voice dropped a little, husked when he asked, "This size?"

The dark grey of Wufei's gaze flooded black. "Oh my god." Lashes fell, and his palm stroked firm and steady, teasing at Treize's cock. "Oh my god."

He exhaled in a huff, letting himself focus on that touch, rocking his hips up a little while Wufei stroked him through the fabric of his slacks. "Fast has to be a little slow just for that."

"Oh my god," Wufei said again. "There's. There's one. But I never, I couldn't, I..." And there was something desperate there, something needy, something that felt so right that Treize's heart skipped a beat. "I wanted, and I, but I..."

"Toys aren't warm. They don't..." Kiss, and touch, and he slowed, shifting in closer, sliding a knee under Wufei's thigh to get him closer, easing up his shirt. "Human touch is so much better."

It was a bit of a surprise when Wufei moved, got his knees on either side of Treize's thighs. "It's been a long time since someone pinned me down and made me take it." That hand on his cock, god. "Made me want." The tab on his zipper pulled, and Wufei was panting. "Made me beg."

Fuck. There was nothing to unzip on Wufei since he'd crawled back into bed for a nap, but it was easy to slide a hand down the back of his loose sleep pants and slide fingers over one asscheek. "Face up or face down?"

"Yes." Yes both, yes all, and then Wufei shivered, whined. "Face down. Face down, oh, god, yes, please, I want, you, I want you."

"Bedroom. Please, let's..." That was a beautiful mental image, even as he tugged Wufei closer. All he had to do was not accidentally palm the bandages that covered where the bullet had creased Wufei.

Wufei moved up and off of his lap, and he was tugging him, pulling him up from the sofa, and Treize went willingly, followed him as he moved towards the bedroom. "Yes. _Yes._ "

Enthusiastic consent was his favorite kind.

Wufei's bedroom was familiar, tidy, and he turned Wufei as they got closer to the bed, kissed him again. He was going to make him beg first. Make him writhe, make him sob, make him take every inch, and so far Wufei seemed more than willing. His hands were roaming, fingertips stroking up his arm to cup his jaw, hold him closer, help to angle his mouth on Wufei's. Fall into the warmth and heat of it, closing his eyes and pulling Wufei just that little bit closer. It was a strange, enjoyable place, and he hadn't been there in a long time. Longer than he wanted to think about, at least not like this. Not this moment where he felt so much want, so much need to take, and he caught a wrist, pulled it to the small of Wufei's back. The immediate groan it earned him promised good things, promised him this would go somewhere he would very much like. Not just him, either, from the depth of that sound.

"Too much clothing." He used the grasp of Wufei's wrist to walk him back to the edge of the bed, leaning in to kiss at the side of his neck. "Wanted this."

"Yes." Yes, yes, that was his favorite word. "Clothes, they're, let's..." And then Wufei's free hand was between them, trying to slip buttons from their moorings, a little shaky with want.

And in sex, words got away from everyone, which took some of the edge off. He pulled back for a moment, just long enough to pull off his sweater and drop it to the ground so Wufei could get to the rest of the buttons. He didn't think he was a pretty package to unwrap, not from the way Lady had reacted, but he was comfortable with himself, and he was very quickly going to have Wufei too distracted.

Starting with pulling off Wufei's t-shirt.

It came over his head, the loose hair spilling down after, and he was back at Treize's buttons in short order, fumbling at a couple of them. "Tell me what you want?" His voice held a low thrum or perhaps a tremor. Possibly it was both.

He slid one hand down the curve of Wufei's ass, sliding beneath the fabric of his pajama pants. "You, skin on skin."

The huffed breath shuddered back in with a gasp, and Treize pushed his hand, the pajamas bottoms pulling with his motion and becoming a puddle on the floor. "Fuck." Fuck, and a hand was clenched in the fabric of his shirt, eyes raised and wide, vulnerable. "Fuck."

"That, too." He smiled at Wufei, nudged him up against the bed until the mattress pressed behind his knees, made him step out of his sleep clothes. He was gorgeous naked, all lean functional muscle sprawled out for Treize's enjoyment as he moved onto it, looking up at him. He liked that very much, and took a long moment just to look as Wufei's eyes skipped shyly to the side.

"Please." He liked that, too.

Treize put a knee on the bed, toeing off his shoes, and then he moved to kiss Wufei again, to put his hands on Wufei's wrists and make him submit to slow kisses. He opened to them easily, the soft sounds he gave beneath them exquisite. There was no resistance to those hands or the way he held them, just Wufei going lax and offering himself up as though he were made for him, and fuck but it was everything he could want. Treize took his time, kissed Wufei's mouth and neck, started to kiss at his chest, gathered his wrists together and held him down. There was no force to it yet, because Wufei's movements were just squirms and begging motions, and he loved the sound. Loved the motion, too, his body rocking upward to press against Treize's, cock leaking onto Treize's shirt.

"There's..." He shuddered when Treize caught a nipple in his lips, sucking hard, the edge of teeth felt. "There's lube in the, in the nightstand, and condoms." And toys somewhere else.

Eventually he would find where they were hiding. "Not yet." Once he was done, once he was satisfied that the begging was going to be needy enough. He moved just enough to tease the other nipple, circling it with his tongue.

"Ohh." Wufei's wrist tugged and then went limp again, his body relaxing further, eyes closing. His hair was spilled loose over the pillow, and he turned it to the side, almost as if he planned to hide something, and then he seemed to realize he was doing it and turned back toward Treize, mouth open, lashes parted so that Treize could see him watching.

Huh. 

He lapped that nipple again edged it gently with teeth, and then leaned up again to kiss Wufei, to distract him, while he swapped hands to get his shirt off. His dick was damn hard, and he was going to have to take his time there, too, so perhaps it was time to start with the lube.

"Fuck," Wufei breathed, watching him, clearly hungry. "Fuck, you're..." Scarred. "...perfect."

"I didn't talk." He said it ruefully, taking the moment to open the nightstand drawer, pulling out a couple of condoms and a half used bottle of lube. It was easy to slip out of his slacks and pants, too, and rejoin Wufei to pick up kissing, skin to skin this time.

That was obviously much better, because Wufei gasped beneath his lips, moaning, one lose arm coming up, catching the nape of Treize's neck. "Oh, that." He pulled away for a second. "It doesn't make you any less perfect. Or hot." He seemed to think about it for a second. "Possibly it makes you more."

He laughed, and caught at Wufei's free wrist, but touch, touch felt good and he liked the fingers sliding over the nape of his neck and upper back, kissing at Wufei's jaw again. "You were an honor to fight."

That got a reaction, and not the one he was expecting. Wufei went still, a breath shuddering out of him. "Why would you..." He paused to get himself together. "It wasn't even a fair fight. You just..."

He supposed he should've been pleased that he could still turn the wrong phrase occasionally. He pressed his face against Wufei's neck, kissed him, settling his knees on either side of Wufei's thighs, letting him bring his hand down. "Wanted to die at the hand of a proven warrior." He'd had terrible luck trying it, too. "Ep.." No, that wasn't going to work, and his heart rate was creeping up for the wrong reasons. He hadn't been willing to rebuild it for them, hadn't been willing to tell them who else could make a ZERO, who else alive might be of use to them. Fuck.

"I didn't want to kill you." That broke him out of the downward spiral a bit. "I just.. wanted to defeat you. I wanted to win." It was barely a whisper.

Treize shifted, leaned back and stroked fingers over Wufei's shoulder, arm, holding his gaze. "Would you have held the spear to Tallgeese's neck? Losing is death in a mech."

Wufei's breath shuddered loose and he pulled his hands out of Treize's grip, grasped him, pulled him tight and close and held him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

He shifted, half laid down beside Wufei because the moment had passed but they could get there again if he gave it a moment, and the tight clutch felt good. Stupidly good, and he could feel the tension in Wufei's muscles under his hands. "No suit." Because if his mech took a killing blow, he wasn't going to fight it, hadn't ever fought it. Zechs called it life on hard mode, a stupid pact made when they were young.

"I didn't know," he said again, and buried his face for a moment. "Anyone with sense wouldn't go into battle without..." Never mind that Wufei undoubtedly had on more than one occasion.

"Yes." He inhaled, because Wufei smelled like bedding and warm skin and a hint of soap, and his hair was soft against Treize's hand as he stroked his fingers at the back of Wufei's head. "Fight and win another way."

And then he leaned in and kissed him again.

Wufei gave a little sound, different from the ones from before. It was... softer. Sweeter.

Treize didn't know how he knew that it wasn't the same. He just knew.

The motion was different, the press was slower, and he met it, breathing easy, letting the moment sink into his senses. Firm mattress beneath them, Wufei's naked body relaxing against his own in a tangle of legs, a press of hips, the faint passing sensation of bandage as Wufei got comfortable against him. He still coaxed Wufei's lips to part, to let him in, groaning a little. He enjoyed kissing, could lose himself in it.

No one who'd held him captive had had the slighted interest in it.

Wufei seemed to love it, kiss after kiss, slow and easy and pressing, more a tease than anything else. Their mouths met and parted, then came back together again in easy sweeps, tiny laps of tongue. Another kind of duel, and he exhaled slowly, stroked his hand against Wufei's hip, sliding a hand between them to lightly palm Wufei's dick. "Could do this all night."

"Mhm." And then Treize touched him again, and he whined. "Oh. Oh, that's..." He seemed to melt a little again, then, and Treize liked that. It seemed to be something of a conditioned response, in fact, and it had a stream of questions springing to mind.

He could ask them later, when he was sure that a badly positioned phrase might not cause a nice moment to spiral. "More?" He nudged another kiss against Wufei's mouth.

"Yes." He felt that against his lips. "Like, like before?" Obviously he quite liked before.

He hummed agreement, and gave a slightly firmer stroke. "Ten minutes ago or this afternoon?"

"Ten minutes ago." Or however many minutes ago it had been, because he wasn't sure how long they'd been kissing. "I, I liked it when you held me down." Ah, and he was blushing again.

"I can tell." He liked it, too, and he liked the tight clutch of arms around him. He had a feeling he could get to do both the same night, the way Wufei was flushing red, warm with want. Treize eased him back fully onto his back, positioning himself comfortably over Wufei again, up on his knees.

All it took was a quick grab of both wrists, and a little effort to really pin him down.

His mouth opened on a gasp, swiftly followed by white teeth biting into his lower lip. His thighs shifted underneath Treize, pressing together and then apart. "Fuuuuck."

"Have to plan anything more complicated." He flexed his fingers, and kept the grip tight as he leaned down to kiss Wufei's neck again, his free hand grasping Wufei's dick.

"Okay, okay. Oh, my god." The writhing was delicious. "Please, I, it's..." Hm. Obviously begging would be a thing that he would be getting as much of as he liked.

Treize spent a long minute enjoying the taste of Wufei's skin, stroking his dick slow and easy, enough to get just the right amount of writhing before he decided what he was going to do. Hopefully it caught Wufei by surprise, the moment where he let go of his wrists, and turned him over, flipped him onto his stomach, and brought both wrists back to the small of his back.

The way he gasped was a delight, his body arching up for just a moment before he went limp below him, a sob muffled against the pillow, and then he turned his head to the side and looked over his shoulder, some combination of pleading and wanton as he stared up at Treize. "Please. Plea.. ah!"

Now he could reach everything he wanted while holding Wufei's wrists. If he wanted to, it could end up being quite a scuffle, and Treize was fairly sure that in hand to hand he'd lose, but... It wasn't real, and took his time kissing down Wufei's spine. "Patience."

"Haaaa." The side of Wufei's face pressed into the pillow, and he made an obvious effort to contain himself. "'s been a long time."

"Yes." Yes it had been a long time, and Treize kept kissing down, smiling to himself before he licked a line between Wufei's ass cheeks, steadying Wufei with the hand that wasn't holding his wrists.

He made a _sound_ and his thighs parted, Treize shifting so that he could spread them wider. Wufei's hips were already coming up, trying to get closer, and god he was delighted. It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed someone quite like this. Well, well before everything had started to go to hell. Before Operation Meteor. He got comfortable, holding Wufei's wrists still against the small of his back to feed whatever interesting urge that was while he settled, reaching for the lube. He was good at working one handed even if it was a little messy, lube sliding down Wufei's crack before he closed the bottle against his own thigh and chased the drips with a skimming two fingered touch right across Wufei's asshole.

"Oh my god." It was a whisper, and Wufei was trying to stay still, stay the way Treize wanted him for the moment. Stay settled, and let him do as he pleased.

God, he loved that instinct. He didn't know who had trained it into him, but it was clear that someone had. He was going to take every advantage it gave him.

He was absolutely going to have Wufei tied up on his knees on the sofa with a toy in his ass. "Beautiful." Treize circled his tight hole with those two slicked fingers, and then slowly eased one in. "Tell me, how..."

"Oh my god," he said again, but the way it drawled out of his mouth this time it seemed almost drugged. He was tight around it, and he was quite obviously enjoying himself immensely. Just a slip and press of finger in and out, while he kissed at Wufei's left ass cheek before he straightened up and edged in closer, kneeling up so he could casually press his dick against the back of Wufei's thigh. He was damn tight.

His hips were rocking, pressing back to Treize's fingers just a little bit, barely enough to notice. "That's so good, fuck."

Treize squeezed Wufei's wrists together, and drew his hand back just far enough to slide a second finger in beside the first. Every response was just, just damn perfect, and he just had to be patient himself.

"Oh fuck." He was squeezing around those fingers, trying so hard not to move for a moment that his entire body went rigid before he managed to relax again beneath Treize's touch, panting. His words seemed to be failing him, and Treize loved that he was already having trouble thinking, that he was so willing. Fuck. Fuck, he was going to have him.

He was going to flatten him into the bed, once he was ready. Treize twisted his fingers, concentrating on that tightness, on the flex and stiffening of Wufei's body as he kissed the nape of Wufei's neck. "More?"

Wufei's head nodded, just a little, jerky. "Yes. Yes, yes, fuck, yes." His hole clenched around Treize's knuckles, a steady squeeze, the rest of him relaxed, ready, wanting.

Just one more, and he worked a little, fitting a third finger in beside the other two, and wishing he had a third hand so he could get the condom and lube again.

"Ahhh, fuck. Fuck, your fingers." He was whining, low in his throat. "Bigger than mine, ngh." Yes, and clearly he was enjoying them, but oh.

He wanted to see that, Wufei's fingers in his own ass, taking the time to stretch himself out, and he kissed Wufei's neck, giving them one last twist before he started to ease them back out. "I want, fuck, are you ready enough?"

The nod of Wufei's head was shaky. "Yeah, yes, yes, I..." His tongue traced his lips. "I like it when it hurts a little."

It made the ache a little worse, hit something good in his chest, and he took a moment to press himself against Wufei's back, kissing the side of his jaw. "Just a little." That feeling of a tiny bit too fast, but good when you wanted it, he knew just what it was, and that was easy, but he slid slick fingers over Wufei's stomach, palming his dick one last time before he grabbed for the condoms and lube. 

Next time he'd make Wufei put it on him.

"I'll, I'll keep my hands where you tell me," he offered, and it was hoarse, but such a pretty offer. It would free up his hands for putting on the condom in any case.

He squeezed Wufei's wrists, knowing that his own answer was going to come out husky and maybe a little dazed with it. "Over your head." Then he let go, opening the condom wrapper. It was always such a fussy task, and he was always too damn excited by the time he put it on with a drop of lube in the tip.

The fact that Wufei had immediately obeyed, crossed both of his wrists above his head and moved not an inch anywhere else was... it was almost better than actual bondage, truly. That immediate submission was beautiful, and if he disobeyed or moved them, well, that was quite another interesting scenario.

The irony that they would eventually need to talk about it wasn't lost to him. He slicked his hard dick liberally, and knelt with one leg between Wufei's knees and the other outside of his injured thigh so he could brace himself if he needed to, and positioned the head of his cock carefully against Wufei's tight hole.

He didn't ask if he was ready, just curved a hand around a hip and pushed, lightly at first, then more firmly, and Wufei was hiccoughing beneath him. He couldn't tell if his hips were moving forward or away from the pressure. Perhaps a little of both, still trying his best to do as told, to be still, and Treize finally leaned in, gave a firmer thrust of hips, felt him open just a bit, just little, and then did it again. Listening, waiting to be told no, to be told to stop, but it never came. He felt Wufei's muscles bunch when he breached him, when the head pressed in and stayed in for more than a pulse, felt the muscles spasm tight in a way that made him flex and ache, struggling to keep himself as good and still for the moment as Wufei had been.

Wufei was panting beneath him, taking in the occasional huge gasp of breath, and god but the way he squeezed around him. When he whined, hands balling into fists, he turned his head, and Treize could see the dampness at his lash line. He was flushed red, teeth clenched, and he was beautiful.

"Almost..." He leaned in, pushed in, the hand at Wufei's hip steadying him as he leaned forward, past Wufei's head to grab a pillow to shove underneath his hips, just to lift them off the bed a little, give them both traction as he pushed with determination the rest of the way in.

Wufei's voice broke, a sob shuddering through him, and he arched despite himself, trying to get away and then trying to take Treize in. When he turned his face into the pillow, it was to cry out, muffle the sounds, but oh. Oh, he wasn't trying to get away at all, and his cock was hard when Treize managed to slide a hand underneath him.

It was almost manageable, like an impressive push up while he rocked his hips gently, stroking Wufei's dick root to tip with messy fingers before he had to go down on one elbow, trying to keep his weight to his knees and the one shoulder of Wufei's that he was pinning down as he finally started to thrust. "Please..."

"I want to move." And if it was a sob, well. "I want, I want, please, please, please!" Please and his hands were still over his head, his ass tight and clenching and Treize thought perhaps Wufei had been made for him. Just for him.

Just for a moment, all for him, and he stretched his free hand out to pull at Wufei's wrists in encouragement as he rocked into him. "Move."

That was enough to give him leeway, enough for Wufei to start squirming, pushing back to him, and he took every inch of him, hips shoving back until he had it all and then rocking forward again, and his wrists pulled at Treize's hands just enough, just right, and he was crying out, meeting the push of Treize's hips. The neighbors would undoubtedly know what was going on, because any thought of shame or embarrassment was definitely gone. Their bodies were the only thing there, the way he was getting fucked, the feeling of it, the emotions. The rub and press of skin on skin, tight around his dick, friction as he groaned, the way Wufei's muscles moved under his touch, the taste of sweat on his neck, the slick of his dick in Treize's hand, a roil of sensations that he fell into, trying to catch every signal Wufei was giving off to feed back into it, more or less or faster or slower, whatever made the moans more breathless, whatever fed the need.

"I'm gonna, 'm gonna, can I, let me, let me, let me, let me." If he even knew what he was saying, it would be a surprise. It was exactly what Treize wanted to hear.

"Please come." He nudged Wufei up a little, just enough to get more space for his hand, stroking firmly, and a little extra traction to just, he was so close himself, he was so damn close and Wufei was perfect and lovely beneath him.

He sobbed and broke into full-scale pleasure. Treize felt the hot wet slick of come over his fingers, felt the throb of his hole, the way he arched, the way his wrists went loose in his grasp.

Treize lasted another few thrusts, shuddering and tense when he finally came, everything white and blue and orange inside his head as he clutched at Wufei's hip and tried to sink into him forever. Couldn't be, couldn't stay that way, and he knew he needed to move, easing his hips back and sliding to Wufei's right side, letting go of his wrists.

"Ooow." That was a pretty pitiful sound, all told, but when Wufei looked to the side at him, it was truly remarkable. He looked sweaty and limp with pleasure.

He shifted onto his back, and pulled at Wufei so he wasn't quite lying in the wet spot. Treize still had to take the condom off, but he was tired and they could lie there dazed and irresponsible for a bit. "Can I stay the night?"

Wufei hummed, voice a bit raspy. "'d be offended if you didn't." He already looked as if he might doze off right there.

Even with the light in the corner on. Treize hummed agreement, and let a hand idle against Wufei's back. It wouldn't be any harder to get to sleep after a nap.

Not after this.

He liked the way things were looking for him these days.

* * *

Maybe, Wufei thought, he should have called in sick.

At the very least, he shouldn't have brought his bicycle. His thigh throbbed regularly to remind him that it hadn't been his brightest idea. It had put a fair amount of strain on the injury, mostly because he'd found that settling himself onto the seat put strain on another part of his anatomy.

It had been very very good, though not something to do every night. Not if he wanted to walk without Duo making eyes at him. He hadn't said anything, but he was thinking it loudly as they separately worked through their bits of paperwork, and routine meetings. What Duo called General Bullshit.

"Stop thinking so loudly," Wufei finally muttered, gaze firmly on his paperwork. It was protest or find that thinking loudly became talking about things, and he wasn't inclined to talk about anything.

Least of all in the office. He had, after all, taken a complicated situation and made it more so. Tea and quiet conversation and silences were one thing; getting into bed with Treize was... something else. "Didn't say a thing," Duo sing-songed from behind his bank of monitors. "Don't have to."

And the only note he'd gotten from Iron had been, _'Behind on some tasks, and stuck in an internal analysis investigation. Let me know if anything comes up you need support on.'_

Ugh. "Good," Wufei grunted, and was planning to let it go at that.

He should have known Duo wouldn't, though. The sheer self-satisfaction of his grin was utterly unrepentant and said more than a speech might have done.

"I'm proud of you," he finally said, when he brought Wufei coffee over. "Sort of. He's all right."

He was, wasn't he? "I took your advice into consideration." The answer sounded prim, and it had been anything but that last night.

"My advice that you needed to get out there and grab the bull by the horns? Yeah, but I didn't figure it'd gore you right out the gate." He winked as he sat down in his own chair and rummaged through his bag for his lunch.

Ah, god, he could feel the heat in his own cheeks. "Yes. Well. It was..." He coughed. "Remarkable." For lack of a better word, because perfect seemed a bit much to drop into conversation at the moment. His own lunch had been in the refrigerator when he'd dragged himself up, a note attached saying that Treize had an early morning call but that he would be down to see him later and that he'd thrown together something for lunch for him because he'd seemed groggy and he thought Wufei should have the extra sleep as opposed to getting up and making it himself.

It was very sweet and slightly unexpected. Very unexpected, even if it was just an assortment of fruits from his own fridge and a rather decent looking sandwich with cheese that he was sure hadn't actually come from his fridge.

He did wonder with whom Treize had an early morning call. Wufei supposed he was doing something to fill his days, even if he was supposed to be dead to the world. 

"He's hot. For an older guy," Duo smirked.

Wufei sputtered a bit, and managed not to tell Duo he should see him naked because wow. That was still quite impressive, actually. "Ah, hm. Yes. He is."

"I promise not to tease you about it for... like an hour." Duo nodded to himself. "Like a whole hour. You sweet talked him with cookies to get him from running away to, well." He flicked his eyebrows again. "Sorry, I know you're not braggy. I sort of wish we had a mission to run down, but it's kind of okay that crime takes a break every once in a while." Instead they had the planning documents for security for a diplomatic meeting in a month, and meetings, and more meetings, and teleconferences.

Teleconferences were the worst because sometimes whoever was leading one really sucked at it. They couldn't keep the rest of the disastrous assholes under control, and Wufei kind of wanted to burn something to the ground when that happened. Still, there was last night to consider, and he let the smile slip over his mouth as he sorted out his lunch. "Yes." To all of that.

Yes to gorgeous men who were supposed to be dead. He could let his mind drift over flashes and moments from the night before; the size of Treize's dick, the way he kissed so very thoroughly, and how good it had felt to let his mind go and just get flattened into the mattress. Pounded into it, in fact, and there had been the perfect balance of full and aching because it was too much. Just a tinge of hurt to it, just enough to make him fly to pieces beneath Treize's thrusting hips.

God, that was fantastic.

"Invite me to the wedding. Or when you run away to the Maldives." Duo threw a shelled peanut at him, feet up on his desk.

"We'll see." Who knew where it was going? Not Wufei. Not even remotely, but he was bizarrely satisfied with it for the moment, anyway.

He could enjoy a thing like that, an interesting man with a beautiful, sizable dick, some good company. An interesting person to talk to. A pull he couldn't quite resist, and neither apparently could Treize. "Mmhmm. Yeah. Keep me up to date, you know I like the good gossip."

"You like to know who's getting laid," Wufei replied, and he was entirely too pleased with himself today. Or maybe just too pleased in general, he wasn't sure. It didn't matter, not really.

It was a good place for his head to be in when he finished the sandwich and drank a little more coffee. There was a meeting later, more arguing about security, and he'd at least get to see Heero's angry scowl on the other end of the data call.

That always made for an entertaining day.

The fact that he was probably going to be told to take himself home after that didn't hurt any, either. He could definitely stand to sit somewhere he didn't have to lean sideways on a hip. Between that and his thigh, he'd be pretty relieved to get home.

He'd even use the elevator.

And then he got the message on his datapad from Iron -- not the work system -- and it said, _'Got a minute? Pattern question.'_

Wufei still felt a little guilty about Iron, even if he'd decided it was for the best. _'Yes. What's the issue?'_

_'Pattern of organization of financials from Kuala Lumpur factory matches pattern in our own filing system. Suspicious activity on network, need someone to walk it formally to higher in way that can't be monitored.'_

That wasn't good, not at all, and Wufei scowled. _'Sure. Send me what you have and I'll take it straight to Anne.'_

It was a series of notations and screenshots pasted over into the system they had been using, a justification that made sense as he watched it slowly populate his datapad. _'Thanks.'_

 _'Not a problem.'_ Except for the fact that the pattern was a huge problem in and of itself.

"I'm heading upstairs," he advised Duo abruptly. "Finish your sandwich and come with." Because Duo was pretty much the epitome of hangry if someone interrupted his food consumption. It took a lot to keep such a short guy going.

"Aww." Duo started to chew quickly. "What's up?" What was up was that Iron hadn't let go of the thing that had been bothering him.

"I'll tell you on the way up." They'd had a lot of time on the lunar base and Duo had taught Wufei and Heero L2's sign language because it had seemed like a more productive way of spending time than staring at walls. It had come in handy on more than one occasion.

"Man, and I was looking forward to staring into space for a couple of hours." He dusted his hands off. "Okay, let's go."

That was how they ended up in the elevator, staring at the closing doors. Wufei shoved his datapad into a pocket on his thigh and quickly used a few signs to bring Duo up to date. He was the last person Wufei would ever suspect, mostly because while he _could_ do it, chaos and explosions were so much more fun. But not to the point where he thought that Duo would help fund an insurgency. Not that kind of insurgency, either. Duo seemed curious and thoughtful, which was serious.

They stepped out into the hallway. The sixth floor was a bit less convoluted than the open floor plan on their own, but it had actual offices with most of the doors open. Anne's, not unexpectedly, was never open. She liked peace and quiet in which to work and she got it, mostly because by the time someone made it to her door, it was Very Serious Business.

One didn't dare approach her otherwise. 

He knocked lightly, waited to be bade enter, and then they both stepped in. "Ma'am, Wufei's got news for you."

"Iron contacted me. He wanted me to walk something up to you physically. He was worried about it hitting the network."

Anne leaned back in her chair, frowning. "That sounds quite serious."

Wufei hesitated for a moment, then spoke with his voice low. "He's identified the pattern that was bothering him. He's seen it on our network.

"In the analysts' file structure. We need to pull access records." Duo said, as he gestured for Wufei to show her.

By the time she finished looking it over, her frown was enough that Wufei thought it might send someone running in terror. "I want you two and Iron on this. Don't consult anyone outside of the three of you and myself. I'll take care of any permissions you need, but I suspect you can manage it well on your own, yes?" And probably without leaving any sign they'd been there. Wufei was okay at that part, but Duo was a whiz at it. He could only imagine that Iron probably was, too.

Duo nodded at that. "I'll start on the access of these files then. It's on the share drive, but that was the analyst huddle this morning, that someone's... something weird's going on, yeah?"

"Something weird is definitely going on." The fact that she was so blunt about it meant that whatever it was must be serious. "I'll leave it to the two of you to get at it from a slightly different angle."

"Yes, ma'am." Wufei handed over the data pin that held Iron's information. "You probably want to check this off network."

She nodded at him. The unfortunate part of it was that there would be a great deal of flirting in there, but he wanted her to have the data and not question its veracity by editing and snipping. "You can count on us."

At least they hadn't devolved into dirty talk. There was that for which he must be grateful. "Do we need to be on this afternoon's teleconference? Otherwise, I'd suggest we try getting at everything from the outside so no one walks behind us." That was the problem with an open floor plan.

"One of you will stay for the call, otherwise it will be suspicious. But yes, start from the outside. Work with Preventer Iron." She inclined her head to them, a dismissal unless they had other questions.

After a duet of, "Yes, ma'am," they headed down the corridor to the elevator.

"I'm sacrificing you to this afternoon's teleconference," Wufei advised. He didn't have to say why.

"You're more apt to say 'fuck this, I hate meetings' and walk off anyway. I won't tell anyone why." He had a sly gleam in his eyes. "You got a data pin for me, too? Maybe I can come by after dinner and we'll see where we are?"

"Sounds like a plan." Maybe he could even slip in a nap if he got lucky. As it was, he was contemplating calling a ride versus getting on his bike again. That hadn't been a very good call. It wouldn't be a comfortable bike ride back, and perhaps it was a good idea to get the ride back and stick his bike in the trunk. It was good use of his time not to make anything more injured just then, particularly if he and Duo had to address anything.

He'd need to be able to run just in case.

* * *

He was busy, so busy, and it was easy to fall into a pattern, to fall into sorting and sifting the data, to documenting and working. If he hadn't been a physical person, he could have done that for a living, if he hadn't enjoyed piloting and fighting so hard. And for a while, when the war had been going badly, he had done similar, trying to build out the data he hadn't been getting because he'd been cut off from access.

It was later than he expected by the time he surfaced, having passed his news to Wufei. He made a cup of coffee and ate an apple, staring out the window for a moment or three before checking his messages.

He had one from Anne the night before on the account he didn't check quite as often. _'Called and you didn't pick up. Let me know you're okay.'_

Well. She undoubtedly knew now since he had sent Wufei upstairs with the information he had found, and that made him feel a little guilty. She'd also know in short order that they'd been flirting, and he wondered what her reaction to that would be.

He always felt a bit like a stray dog; never quite sure what he did or where he stepped out of line when he stepped out of line, and it made him nervous. Best thing to do of course was just to call her back. A button touch and even if she didn't answer she would know he was fine.

 _"Hello, Iron."_ And then, of course, she answered immediately. _"I was wondering when you'd call."_

"I'm sorry, I was distracted and missed your call." It wasn't quite the conversation he wanted to have with her, but it was a conversation that needed to be had particularly if she was calling him by his codename. That meant she thought it was likely that there might be monitoring either on the network or in her office?

 _"I can't imagine what distracted you."_ Did she sound... amused? He wasn't sure this was the call he thought he was having. _"I've been looking through some things. It's good that you're getting on well with your new team."_

Amused was good, he supposed, amused was better than disappointed. "They're a good team. Was there something you were looking for last night?"

 _"No, I was just checking in with you. It was Monday, and I thought I would call and make sure you'd gone to and from therapy successfully after the previous incident."_ Ah, yes. Well. That wasn't an entirely bad point, considering.

He watched a cluster of teenagers cross the street, and fiddled with the remains of his apple core. "Sometime when you're free, could we talk? I've created a minor predicament for myself."

 _"Oh? I have a bit of time now,"_ she offered. _"I'm not due in teleconference for a good forty-five minutes."_

Oh excellent and terrible at the same time. "Oh." And now he needed to find the words to explain the problem, thinking for a moment. "Mercury and Wind don't know the same things."

He could see her brows rise. _"Oh? And what do they know, precisely?"_

"Wind worked it out. Mercury hasn't." He'd be less circumspect face to face, but given the paranoid mood he was in, well.

Her mouth did a funny thing that wasn't quite a frown but also seemed thoughtful. _"That's unusual for him."_

"Something between the painkillers and emotion." He shrugged a little because it explained it well enough for him from that perspective. "You expected him to?"

 _"I didn't expect for Wind to keep it to himself that long."_ She was smiling at him now, definitely. _"I see you've been flirting. He's going to catch you, and then how will you explain it?"_

"I don't know." He didn't have an explanation. He didn't know where to start or how to explain that he hadn't been, it wasn't like it seemed. He'd had absolutely no plan whatsoever for Wufei ever to meet him, much less figure out that he was Iron.

He'd have to figure something out shortly, though.

 _"Well."_ She paused, licked her lips, leaning forward. _"You should probably plan on it happening sooner rather than later. He's heading home for the afternoon, by the way. To start that special project he brought me."_

"Mm. That problem." He knew he was frowning at her, but he couldn't quite... "You're not going to... I don't know. I'm allowed to tell him?" The last time he'd been half credibly reported to be seen in public she'd shown up on her way to work and cut his hair; and then after Duo had recognized him, he hadn't gotten to see Mariemaia.

Her head tilted to the side. _"Of course. Why would you think otherwise? Mercury and Wind are trustworthy, if nothing else."_

"I." Because, because he didn't know, because if he thought or looked too hard at everything it fell apart and he couldn't find words to articulate it correctly, the fear. "All right. Thank you."

 _"I truly just want you to be happy,"_ Lady told him. _"In the end, that's what we want for the people we love, yes?"_

"Yes." He scrubbed a hand across the side of his head. "I've started talking to the therapist. Trying to."

She lit up so brightly that he could tell it over the screen. _"I'm proud of you. Finding the place to start is always the hardest. You deserve to be happy, Iron."_

He deserved to be happy and that was what people wanted for their loved ones. He was very happy she had found Giancarlo, and he rather liked the man himself. And the coffee he made. Clearly he made Lady happy, happier than Treize and OZ and the wars ever had. She had something now, and he wasn't going to let a mole take it apart. "We'll see. Thank you, Lady. I'll follow up more on that project."

He was going to talk to Wufei and find the quickest route to solve the problem.

Something about having made that determination left him feeling lighter, as though the world could finally click into place around him. It was something he could appreciate.

_"We'll see you Friday, then, yes? Mari's physical therapy was intense and so she fell asleep last week. I'm sorry we didn't make it."_

So it hadn't been on purpose, then. That... was a relief. Maybe he needed to start asking about some of his assumptions. "Friday is good. I might cook, unless she has a preference?"

_"Her preference is spending time with you, so I suspect you could feed her almost anything and she would be happy with it. Shall I ask if she has any preferences and let you know?"_

"Thank you. I'll let you get ready for your call." More coffee and a bathroom break before it kicked off, he was sure. Perhaps he could make pasta for her. He thought she would like that.

She nodded at him and signed off, so he set aside the datapad and considered what to do next. Sit outside Wufei's apartment and intercept him? Send him a note as Iron? Or simply wait. Try to figure out what to say when they were alone and pressed against one another, sleepy and well-pleasured.

That seemed like a good idea and possibly also a terrible one at the same time. He could imagine Wufei angry and he could imagine him soft, but he wasn't sure either of those would be the reaction he would get.

He didn't want to intrude on a relaxing moment like that with something that Wufei would find jarring; better beforehand than after. He was usually more creative, but something about it, the sheer risk involved, made him freeze up.

He'd have to think about it. And maybe, maybe, if he got very lucky, Wufei wouldn't mind at all.

* * *

There was something wonderful about working from home. That was probably because he didn't have to get out of pajamas, Wufei thought. It might also be because he didn't have to get up as early.

Mostly it was because he'd been awakened with coffee by the man who'd spent the night in his bed.

"Lady's boyfriend makes the most obnoxiously perfect coffee," Treize murmured as he settled back into bed beside Wufei, clutching at his own cup. He hadn't worn his contacts the night before, and Wufei had forgotten how brilliantly intensive blue his eyes were, even when he was still drowsy.

"How do you even know this?" Wufei murmured, feeling sleepy and a bit spoiled. He did enjoy the look of those eyes, particularly when they raked over him and made him feel wanted. Perhaps even needed.

Warm in bed, shoulder to shoulder under the duvet, it was lovely. "Sometimes Mariemaia stays overnight on a weekend, so he managed to wring it out of my own coffee maker when they came to pick her up." The audacity of a stranger making better coffee out of one's own coffee maker. It was absurd, and Treize was smirking a little as he said it, watching Wufei.

"Maybe you should learn how he does it." Because Wufei would never be the one up first or the one making coffee. He usually stumbled up, into his uniform, and went out for his bike still half asleep. Everyone had learned that before 0900 hours, it was wisest not to ask him anything. Either it made him cranky or he gave such an absurd answer that it was utterly useless.

"Tried, failed." He leaned in a little, sliding a hand behind Wufei's back comfortably. "How's your leg?"

"Achy." Which only made sense considering his idiocy of trying to go to work on his bike yesterday. "But less gross as of last night."

"You need to stay off it. I'll try not to encourage overuse." He had a feeling it might mean blowjobs, which had been very good the night before, slow and lazy until his brain felt like it was going to dribble out of his ears from sheer pleasure overload.

He wasn't stupid enough to argue against that.

"I plan to. I have a project that needs working on here and it should help lessen the strain. No riding." Which hadn't just been problematic because of his injury, and he was sure Treize knew as much.

He hadn't said anything, but Wufei was becoming accustomed to watching Treize's facial expressions, a gleam to his eyes and a tilt to his smile that was pleased, not quite smug. "I should let you work." He wasn't moving, though, comfortable against Wufei

"Or you could stay," Wufei offered. He wasn't worried that Treize might betray the Preventers somehow. They could settle so that the work he was doing couldn't be observed. "If you'd like."

Treize leaned in to kiss his temple, quiet and thoughtful in a way Wufei was already adjusted to. The silence stretched, and he let Treize take his time. "I'd like. But my computers are hardwire installed upstairs."

Oh. That was disappointing. He wasn't going to invite himself into Treize's space, though. "Hm. All right. I suppose you're a massive distraction anyway."

That got him a soft, fond chuckle, and Treize pulled back a little to sip at his coffee. It was at least a nice cup of coffee. "Not a massive distraction when I'm in chat?"

"Sounds like an offer to talk to me off and on all day. Let me give you my login information?" Wufei peeked up at him through his lashes, surprised by the funny expression on Treize's face.

Confused, deeply deeply confused, eyebrows up in surprise. "Oh, I'm terrible at this. It was supposed to stay a secret."

That didn't bode well. "What's supposed to stay a secret?"

His mouth compressed tightly for a moment, but he kept holding Wufei's gaze. "I'm your overwatch."

"You're what." It wasn't even a question, precisely. It was just Wufei blinking and confused because Treize didn't sound like Iron, did he? Iron's voice was deeper, even if it had the same inflection and they both called Anne Lady and... "You're what." It was only 0830 hours. Surely he'd misheard that.

Treize cleared his throat, and then he could hear it when Treize said, "Lady won't be happy if I don't work on our project today. The data pattern from the financials." He dropped his voice just the little further and that was it.

Wufei just stared at him. He'd tortured himself because he'd felt immediate sexual attraction to Treize and had a crush on Iron at the same time. What the hell was this? Was it some kind of joke or...?

Treize's mouth went tight again after he said it, expression uncomfortable. He could feel the tension in the man's body where they were touching. "Everything's easier written down."

"Okay." That was said slowly. "Okay. So. You write it down." So that he could understand it. "And tell me everything."

It was half absurd, and Treize was quiet and still for a moment longer before he got up, slipping out from under the duvet, and set his coffee cup aside. He pulled his boxer briefs back on, which was a shame, and disappeared out of the bedroom in search of something to write on. It made no sense at all, it didn't -- Iron had been supporting Noin for months before he'd been moved over to support them. 

Noin might have recognized it was Treize right off and she was in the inner circle. It wouldn't have mattered. They had fought together for OZ. Of course she wouldn't have said anything.

He could hear Treize moving around and knew when he'd found paper and pen. Should he get out of bed and follow or wait for him to come back? Wufei didn't know what to do. Had Iron been flirting with him on purpose? Or, it just didn't make sense. Why? Why not...

He was gone from the room for a long time. Perhaps it was time to follow.

Crawling out of bed, he laid his empty coffee cup to the side long enough to don pajama bottoms and then picked it up again and headed out of the bedroom.

He found Treize sitting at the table, pen in hand and still flying over the paper, so he went into the kitchen with the hope that there might be more coffee. Possibly he could even throw together breakfast.

There was still coffee, and Treize didn't look up as he wandered around. It was either make breakfast or sit down and watch the man write.

He threw together breakfast -- mántou and eggs and more coffee with sliced fruit -- and plated it before stepping out to the table and placing it within Treize's reach. He went back for his own plate and for the coffee because surely they could both use it.

When he came back, Treize had turned around about three sheets of paper and set them beside his plate, watching him.

"Do you want me to read it or would you rather read it to me?" He was fairly certain it was the former, but he wanted to be sure of it.

He shook his head, mouth tight, and pushed at the papers. 

> _'I'm sorry. It's very hard to explain out loud. I didn't mean for this to happen -- you were nice to talk to and work with as Iron, and I never expected to meet you in person. I live a very isolated life right now out of necessity. I don't exist, though Dorothy has been working to get me to some sort of acceptable status existing as a person again after three years of being dead. I have sometimes wished I were dead. It's bewildering out here. I have also never been happier to be here on Earth, where I can see the sunset, sit outside, and know that the world is at peace. After a fashion. But you've noticed that I struggle to talk when the topic isn't easy or I feel stressed. Three years with White Fang was hard. They were determined to have me repair Epyon; they were determined I would tell them who else had built a ZERO system; they were determined to know the secrets to the military structure of Earth, of the people who were now leading Earth._
> 
> _'I didn't talk; and somewhere in the torture and assaults, it broke something in me that I'm still trying to repair. Lady realized that quickly; I stayed with her for a month while she worked out what to do, and I was able to contribute to her work with the Preventers. Anything I can handle at a distance like that has been easy; I can write everything down, and I don't have to do more than listen during meetings. I started by serving as overwatch for Noin; after you needed a new overwatch assigned because of Copper, Lady thought it appropriate to reassign me. It has been wonderful to work with you and interact with you, to learn more about you as a person rather than the soldier I idealized during the war. I did not expect to meet you, as I said earlier. As myself or as Iron. I wasn't trying to do anything, and once I realized there was a conflict, I didn't know what to do.'_ He had underlined that last part. _'I'm sorry, and I understand if you're upset.'_

But was he upset? Wufei paused when he reached the end, thinking about it. Yes. He was. Not flinging dishes and yelling upset, just... it was an uneasy feeling, and he would need time to put all of the thoughts in his head together. To make Iron and Treize the same person instead of two different people.

It was all a muddle, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it, to be honest. "I'm not upset for any reason you might think I'm upset. I don't think." That was clear as mud. "It just might take some time to adjust to you and Iron being... the same."

Treize still looked deeply uncomfortable, watching Wufei, quiet. "I can go." He was volunteering as if it was possibly the only thing he could think of. He ran. He'd run before, and he was clearly inclined to run again.

"Eat your breakfast," Wufei told him, and hooked an ankle around his beneath the table just in case that wasn't clear enough for him to see that the last thing Wufei wanted was for him to run. "After all, it just means that two people I liked very much are one person and I don't have the conflicts I thought I had."

He seemed to relax a little, picking up his coffee cup again. "It was terribly awkward when you let me down easy. For me."

"I'm sure." If he sounded a bit dry, well. Who could blame him? "I don't... do immediate sexual attraction. Except for you, apparently." He'd found Iron's brain incredibly attractive. Now it just came in the same package, so he should consider himself fortunate.

"I'm glad to be an exception." He was still looking at Wufei, slowly relaxing a little, rubbing his leg against Wufei's a little as he picked up his fork.

Wufei was glad that he was an exception, too, and that they could sit and eat breakfast together like this as if it were normal; as if they hadn't just had a bizarre sort of conversation with a glut of information that he didn't know what to do with, truth be told. "You'll like the steamed buns."

"Thanks." The silence was comfortable, and the humming noise of enjoyment as Treize broke off a piece of the steamed bun. "What do you think about the files I sent you yesterday?"

"I think it looks familiar, too. Anne got access for me to check permissions and access records, so I was digging into that yesterday before you arrived. Duo's holding down things at the office." Wufei shoved his fork into his eggs.

"Someone's been deleting files. The analysts had a call yesterday about the deletions. It's probably one of the analysts, unfortunately. The other ops teams are..." He shrugged, eating a little more.

Wufei's mouth twitched. "I've met Kavanagh. You don't have to explain." Great with weapons; couldn't figure out how to use any of their tech that didn't involve some form of projectile.

The answering smile he got for that was warm, easier. Food and calm and contact seemed to help. Treize ate a little melon, looking thoughtful. "My list of suspects is short."

"Duo or I could have done it," Wufei pointed out, taking another bite of eggs before pulling apart his steamed bun. "We didn't, but we could have. Obviously you could have done it, or Anne. But we're not realistic suspects. Who's on your list?"

"Copper. Phosphate. Bohrium." He took a sip of his coffee, and slouched a little in his chair. Nearly naked breakfast was quite nice. "There's a few people down in accounting."

Wufei allowed his ankle to rub against Treize's, more soothing than anything else. "Wiltzbacher. That woman is quite possibly a devil from hell."

"Why?" He was genuinely curious as he finished off the steamed bun, studying Wufei's expression. The contact was nice, easy. He could get there, integrate the two. It was just a little hard to believe face to face, at first.

Everything was so off, and he was trying quite hard to make it all make sense. The one thing he knew with absolute certainty was that he liked Iron and he liked Treize, so the thing to do was to settle it in his head and move right along.

Right?

"Obviously she's never reviewed your expenditures."

"No expenditures," Treize pointed out, smirking. "I think Noin pulled her up from the old days."

Ugh. Of course she would be. "Ran a tight ship, did you?" Many tight ships, Wufei expected.

"Mech maintenance was expensive." He was about to say something else, but went still.

The floor above them had just creaked.

Wufei looked upward and then, feeling ridiculous, whispered, "Were you expecting company?"

"No." He stood up, slowly, and finished his coffee in a quick gulp. "Get your clothes on."

Bossy, but he wasn't wrong, so Wufei didn't protest. They went into the bedroom, quick and quiet, and Wufei pulled on denims and a t-shirt, socks, grabbed his wallet and datapad to shove them in a pocket. By the time he was done with those, Treize had pulled on the clothes he'd been wearing last night, and the sounds from upstairs had become distinctly of the unfavorable variety.

Treize gestured that Wufei should follow him, and walked toward Wufei's bookcase. He crouched, and seemed to find something, and nothing he was doing made sense when it slowly swung away from the wall.

His bookcase swung away from the wall.

"What the actual fuck!?" It was hissed, mostly because there were pounding footsteps coming towards his apartment now, and he wasn't surprised when the door shuddered.

"Quiet." Treize pulled him into the space, guided him into what seemed to be a stairwell, and then pulled the bookcase shut behind them. It was pitch dark, but not dusty.

"What in the hell is this?" It was barely a breath, but Wufei heard it when his front door broke open, could hear people clearing the area. They should probably have tossed breakfast into the sink so no one would think they were still there.

He was living in a thrice bedamned girl detective novel.

Treize stayed silent, still, standing and facing the door like he was waiting for someone to open it on them. 

There was a stairwell in his apartment, which Treize knew about. Which he had headed to without having to think twice about. And there were people outside rummaging in his flat, looking for them.

What the fuck.

"It's clear. No sign of 'em. He must've been here, though. There's two plates." That voice didn't sound familiar, although Wufei was pretty sure his voice recognition skills weren't up to par. He was going to be kicking himself forever, but he hadn't expected it, hadn't looked for it. 

"I _knew_ Mercury knew where Khushrenada was. I knew it!" Copper, not a terrible shock, except that she'd been wrong. He hadn't known a damned thing until she had made herself so difficult to shake off that he hadn't been able to get rid of her.

He opened his mouth, wanting to protest, but felt Treize's hand over it in short order. It was almost like he could sense Wufei wanting to set the bitch straight. Copper wasn't the only one who was in deep shit, because Treize had a secret way into his damned apartment. There would be _words_.

"Unbelievable. We need to get him back. So they've run for it -- do we give chase or wait here, wait it out?"

"Are you an idiot? They've probably run back to headquarters. I'm going to go in and see if we can, I don't know. Get them to stick their head out of their hole."

As if they were that stupid. And if nothing else, he'd set up cameras so he'd have them on video.

...shit. He had forgotten about the cameras. There would also be homemade porn on the video.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck and fuck.

Really good homemade porn, as well as the faces of the people who had broken into his home. And Treize still had a hand over his mouth, though the fingers were starting to relax a little. "Remember, we need Khushrenada alive."

They tightened up again at that, immediately and clearly fucked up over it. Wufei reached up, wrapped his fingers around Treize's wrist and squeezed gently in reassurance. It got him to relax his grip, though he was still and stiff behind Wufei. He just needed to... get a message to Duo or something. Or Anne. And he had the proof he needed.

And the embarrassment of them watching him get fucked into the mattress.

Right. The sacrifices he made for his job. And for his... Wufei didn't know. Boyfriend? He had no idea, but he continued to stroke a thumb against Treize's wrist until he finally seemed to relax.

He could still hear them outside, and they stayed still longer than was probably necessary. Wufei could half imagine that one of them was standing outside of their hiding space, facing them down.

"Is it safe to pull out of my datapad and contact Duo?" he whispered. "He can get a team here."

Treize nodded, and lowered his hand from Wufei's mouth. "Yes." They needed a team, but now they knew who was involved. Somehow it had been easier to wait to be attacked than it had been to finish doing the harder work of digging through files.

Now Wufei was more paranoid about Copper than he had been before, and that was saying something.

He pulled his datapad from his pocket and sent off a text before using the low light from it to eye the area they were in more thoroughly for a few quick seconds. There were bits of old furniture in a corner and a stairway, so he tugged at Treize's wrist and pushed him to sit on the stairs, settling between his knees on the one below him, an arm wrapping over his thigh. It only took another moment to get a response, the room lighting up one more time as it came in.

'Affirm. Sit tight.' 

They could do that, waiting in the silence, Treize still and silent behind him. Eventually they heard the crackle of a radio, something distant, and it didn't sound familiar. Wasn't theirs.

So they waited longer.

Treize finally started stroking his hair, and Wufei let his hand slide down to stroke the bony protrusion of Treize’s ankle, soothing, he hoped. The sounds lingered, and if they were lucky, Wufei thought that Duo would come in and catch them at it.

He could still hear occasional noise off in the distance. And then a creak, and Treize shifted minutely, tense and still behind him. Hopefully no one would find the other end of the stairwell, wherever it was. 

And then they heard gunshots.

Shit.

Shit, he hoped that was rescue incoming, because he didn't know how long he could sit still if it wasn't. His fingers clenched around Treize's ankle. He wasn't sure if Treize was more or less tense, but he felt the other man jump and halfway get to his feet when the door creaked open.

"My dude, you have a fucking hidden staircase? Are you Nancy Drew?" Duo was grinning in the open bookcase. "Your apartment is way cooler than you are."

Treize helped Wufei to his feet. "We're in the clear?" The gunshots implied as much. "Another guard upstairs."

"This may have been the easiest case I've worked in the last couple of years," Duo sighed. "Man, I'm so disappointed."

Wufei snorted. "As if. You're just glad you don't have to chase it anymore."

He shrugged. "It was boring and I had to do all of your paperwork. I suck at paperwork."

Treize tsked judgmentally, but given that there was a _staircase into his apartment_ which he'd been using, it was poor timing to make that noise. "It was Copper. I didn't recognize the others."

"Fair guess is that it's White Fang." They were still around, and Duo was aware they were still plotting. He probably didn't know why they were looking for Treize in particular, but it wouldn't be a surprise to him.

Duo made a weird uncomfortable face, and nodded. "Okay. I think you both need to come with me. We'll talk to Anne about a safe house, maybe the palace or I dunno. We need to figure out who else was involved other than the dead guys. You didn't have, like, a Nancy Drew peephole, did you, Wufei?"

"I didn't even know there was a staircase," he muttered. "But I, ah. I definitely should have them on surveillance. I left cameras up while we were out getting shot at," he confessed. "Although there's definitely stuff that, ah. I'll need to go through it first." Goddammit, he could feel his face getting hot.

"Oh." That was a soft thoughtful noise from Treize, and he could feel his face turning redder. "Huh. Huh."

"So maybe... You should review and get us the video and we'll move locations. You need anything from upstairs, Treize? They kind of pillaged the place."

"Coat, datapad if they didn't take it."

Wufei glanced his way. "Something to wear, any medications?" he suggested. "Pretty sure my front door is shot, but aside from that, I'll pack a bag."

"Okay. I'll stand in the main stairwell, both of you pack, okay? Shout if I missed anyone. Literally." Duo stepped back, and Treize looked thoughtful as he re-secured the bookcase door before Duo accompanied him upstairs..

He definitely needed to talk to Treize about the stairs.

And probably about the accidental amateur porn. Which was probably only what he deserved for making Wufei paranoid by _sneaking down it_ , because that was the only answer. It was kind of creepy of him. Okay, it was very creepy of him, and if it were literally anyone else in the world, he'd be yelling about having a stalker and threatening to shoot him. He felt muddled and stressed and why not, why not a secret staircase that a dead man had been coming down for how many months, moving his picture frames and relighting tea lights on the altar.

The altar someone had knocked over while looking for them.

Leaning down, he picked up the photos of his parents, of Meiran and Mu Tsu, and gently shook them to get the glass out of the frame. Dammit.

At least they hadn't shot it. There was that, wasn't there? That the photos were still whole, since they were the only thing he had left.

Fuck.

He stacked them, shoved them into the duffel bag he was packing. It was easy to plan for a few days of absence, like he was going on a mission. Only this time he had to take the important things, because he didn't want to come back and find what he had left of the people he loved riddled with bullets.

With a sigh, he grabbed the important things -- toothbrush, toothpaste, extra underwear, enough clothes to make it through three or four days, electronics. Once he had everything shoved together, he went to the refrigerator, pulled out some of the fruit, and sat down to munch on it while he waited. After all, their breakfast had been interrupted.

Treize had done a good job of interrupting it himself, and he thought for a moment, about the pieces of paper.

They were gone. Not that it would matter for long. It probably wasn't anything they didn't already know or hadn't figured out, at a guess. So at least there was that.

With a sigh he polished off the cantaloupe, head jerking up when he heard footsteps. It was ridiculous, feeling nervous when it was just Duo and Treize in the doorway. "Welcome back."

Treize now looked appropriately dressed for going outside, and had a black duffle slung over his shoulder. "I now have an excuse to get a new coffee maker. And remembered my meds."

Huh.

It had made sense to Wufei that he would have them, even if he didn't _know_ that he had them. "Then you should definitely talk to Giancarlo about which one you need." So that he could bring him good coffee all the time.

"Yes." He'd have to see if the meds were anything he was familiar with already; it was just better to... know.

It had been with Mu Tsu.

"Okay. So let's all go. I'm parked illegally outside, so let's go because I have to go swear at a meter maid or whatever."

"You shouldn't swear at the meter maid because you fucked up," Wufei advised him. "It's their job."

"Man. Rule followers." Duo sighed melodramatically, as he stepped over the corpse in the doorway. "Cops are on their way and all the usual shit, too. When I said I wanted some crime, I did not mean this."

"No," Wufei agreed. "You meant you planned to go home and ogle the park across the street so that you could identify drug dealers and call in their license information."

That was a sight it might take a while to forget.

Treize stepped over the body completely blandly, didn't linger, and then they started down the stairs. There was another one on the landing, and if there was one upstairs that was three. How many had there been? He needed to look at the video. "Hey, that's like a good evening of sport. Kids play in that park, man."

"And yet normal people probably don't do that. Well. All right, normal people might, but you definitely don't fall into that range." Wufei couldn't help smirking.

The cops were rolling up, and Duo waved hello to them as he unlocked his badly parked vehicle. It was a quiet street, and the New Port City police were rolled in with the Preventers, given Sanc's security status. "Well, you are right there."

"I certainly didn't think that I was wrong," Wufei told him, climbing into the back seat. He wasn't as short as Duo -- hell, who was? -- but he was definitely shorter than Treize, so he would find it easier to sit there.

Treize settled into the front seat, and Duo hardly waited for seat belts before he started the car. "Queen Relena has coordinated with Anne and they're gonna put you up until we catch them and figure out what the hell, you know? Anne's kinda stepping up her security as well, 'cause of the kid. She would've had you both over but that's a lot of eggs in one basket from a security standpoint. Like waving a red flag at a bull."

Wufei nodded. "I can see that."

"Yeah, in any case, we're pretty sure we can peg all of the stuff Copper's fucked around with. They're gonna have to go back to all of the backups, of course, and thank fucking god they keep mirror images of shit for, like, ever, because that will at least make it easier, you know?" Wufei hoped he was using his blinker. He didn't think he was, though. "So we can sort out our shit if nothing else. We don't have to like it. Just gotta do it, yeah?"

Treize gave an agreeing hum and that was enough for Duo to carry on, making good speed out the outskirts of old town, and toward the depth of it, the beautiful rebuilt castle complex by the harbor. It was also pretty much nonstop talking from the time they left the apartment, so neither of them had to think too much about what to say. Wufei knew he used that prattle as a weapon sometimes, but he also used it to soothe people who had been in tough situations and who might need a little mind numbing something to make things better.

He'd felt Treize's reaction when they had said they wanted to take Khushrenada back. They had already had him for three years, since Tallgeese II had been disabled, not quite destroyed enough. Wufei had a feeling it had been a very long three years.

Treize probably had good reason not to care about the corpses if he thought they were taking him back.

Wufei gave some serious consideration to how he felt about that, and he was weirdly more okay with it than he was with the whole secret staircase business. After all, corpses were corpses. Invading his privacy was something else altogether.

He needed to sit down and talk with Treize about everything they hadn't had a chance to discuss, even if it required a ream of paper and a box of pens. In fact, he was going to ask for that when they arrived, although he wondered if Treize might be comfortable using his datapad for it. It was something he could suggest, anyway.

For one thing, it would probably be faster.

Duo's chatter slowed down once they reached the palace gates, and it was weirdly something of a relief just to have silence for a moment while Treize stared at the place like he hadn't seen it in decades. Maybe he hadn't. He was looking around keenly, and that was one more thing to ask. Why New Port City seemed obvious to Wufei, because Anne was there, but history was a funny thing.

He didn't know how he would've felt to be returned to his province in China. "Okay. Here we are..."

"Right. East wing?" It was the most secure wing with the most guards, so it would make sense.

Duo shrugged. "And we've called in a little extra to help."

"All of this was bombed out." Duo parked the car, and Treize popped the door once it was off, moving slow and speculative as he stared up at the walls. Which were probably sturdier than the old ones.

"Yeah, they changed a lot of stuff. That's why the east wing is sturdier than the rest. After it was all said and done, they needed someplace that could withstand... well. You know. For like the fifth time." One hand waved. "C'mon, you guys."

He continued to walk, staring upward at the walls and the ceiling that apparently hadn't been there the last time he'd seen them, but he was still following Duo, so that was something. There were plenty of guards and a stairwell to take them up a flight to where Wufei hoped the rooms were. He was kind of done walking.

At least his ass wasn't as achy today as it had been on Tuesday.

"So!" Duo announced. "Apparently this is..."

"Princesse Elisabette's Suite," Treize murmured, and that just seemed to have taken the wind out of Duo's sails.

"Man..."

Wufei's brow arched. "And that means what to me, precisely?"

"Is there nowhere in the world that is sacred and has fun that hasn't been shown to you already? Jesus," Duo muttered, opening the door. "It wasn't completely destroyed in the bombing and yes, it has a secret escape passage. Fuck. You must be fun at parties."

"Used to be," Treize agreed blandly, looking up at the archway over the door as if it bothered him slightly as they stepped in.

Wufei shrugged. "At this point, I may start demanding secret passages in all of my future accommodations. It seems to be quite popular."

"Handy among people who fear assassination," Duo agreed. "And kinda useful today. I mean you probably could've fought them off, but maybe best not to. Guns versus fists and all. Anne didn't issue you a weapon, Iron?"

"Mm, no."

Well, that was fine. "I packed a sufficient few." Two with three magazines each and extra bullets. There was a reason his duffel was so heavy.

"Right." Duo patted the outside of his thigh, looking at them both. The suite was exquisite, overly filigreed, and he supposed there was a bedroom and a bathroom in there. Somewhere. "I'll be up on the net. If you can get that video to us asap. I'll be checking in with the Queen,"

"Roger that." Except he'd have to explain to Treize how he'd manage to capture accidental porn, and it would be very embarrassing. He knew it had a damn good view because he'd purposely set it up so that it could see both of his nightstands. There had undoubtedly been one hell of a good angle.

Just thinking about it made him want to cover his face.

Duo waved to them both, and then stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Treize set his duffle bag on the floor, hands in his pockets as he looked around. "Someone went to painstaking detail here."

"Oh?" Wufei asked, looking around. "Was there something in particular?" It mostly just seemed like a lot of gilt and curlicues to him.

"Very close replication of the original room." Treize stopped looking around, and gave him a tight smile. "About the stairs..."

Wufei held up a hand. "Do you want to talk about it or would it be easier to write it down?" He knew how difficult it was to talk when someone felt emotional turmoil. After the massacre of the Nǚjié zú, Mu Tsu had found a lot of things difficult. He could be patient.

He exhaled and shifted his stance a little, like he was fighting a response. "Writing. I started, it was curiosity."

"Okay." Okay, it was still creepy, and he'd like to argue about it. He'd like to yell, in fact, and tell him it was creepy. He was pretty sure if he did that then he would be witness to a nervous breakdown. "Okay, so. Take your datapad. Message me."

He unzipped his jacket and slipped it out of a pocket inside it. It was small, the same model he'd seen Anne using on occasion, and wondered just what on earth her boyfriend thought about the whole thing. Clearly the man deserved a medal. Good coffee or no good coffee.

He hadn't expected Treize to be a quick typist, but he was, shooting Wufei occasional glances before he hit enter. Wufei wasn't imagining that he'd wandered a bit away from Wufei while he did it.

_'Sometimes I can't get myself out of my apartment. That's how I discovered the staircase door at the back of my closet. And the spiders that lived in it. After I cleaned it out, I had to see where it went. I was shocked to find out where I was, but... it was also a bit of a treat. Like going somewhere without leaving the apartment. This was before I was reassigned. I just... found it ironic at the time.'_

Honest to god.

"Seriously? That's your explanation?" Wufei put his face in his hand. "Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when things started moving? I put surveillance in my own house!"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." He managed to get that out, lowering his datapad. "I don't have a good reason for why I did it."

"Which actually leads me to the fact that we've made accidental porn." Wufei sighed and looked at him. "If it were anyone but you, I'd arrest you myself. But it is you, and I'm aware of your..." He waved a hand. "I'm aware that you have other issues. If it weren't for the other issues, though..."

"It was a terrible idea." He at least sounded contrite, though Wufei wasn't entirely done. "How... did we make porn?"

"I put surveillance in my own house!" Wufei repeated. "Pointed at the bed because my watch charger moved, because things moved on the nightstands. It was the obvious place! And then I got shot and I didn't think about it because I was in my own space all the time, so I just didn't think about it since nothing moved, and now we've..." He wasn't sure if he was mortified or not. Probably he was, but at the same time, he could check it out and see how good it looked. He felt a little bit like a pervert. Or maybe a lot. "You know."

It made it worse somehow when Treize smiled a little, crooked and almost sly. "I'd enjoy seeing that." Clearly because he'd been balls deep in Wufei once, and sucked him off until he was a puddle of a human being at least two separate times.

"Well, we'll have to watch it since we also have our invaders on video." There was no way he'd hand over the video before it had been reviewed. No way in hell.

He could start at the end, clip them off, and then deal with the rest of the video in privacy. Treize set his datapad down on a sideboard, and started to shrug out of his coat. "Then we should start now so they can get the BOLO out."

He was right. "Fine but I'm still annoyed that you crept into my apartment like a stalker." He probably had some epic issues since he wasn't automatically arresting him. He'd have to seriously address that.

Probably not today.

Treize just nodded at him, and lifted his hands in what Wufei took as a gesture of surrender. "Can't justify it. Would only be making excuses." And that somehow made it a little more... acceptable was the wrong word, but bearable. "Do you want to sit down?"

Wufei sighed. "Yes, please." But first, he opened his duffel and pulled out his electronics so that he could access the cameras.

At least if they were still rolling, they'd see if someone came back.

There wasn't anything like an inviting sofa in the first room, but the second room, an L shaped space which adjoined the bedroom, had a fainting couch that would suffice, and Treize dragged him and his gear bag toward it. Once Wufei was ensconced, he perched on the edge, datapad available again.

"You're terrible." Except he wasn't really. Wufei liked him, and he liked Iron, and he was deeply annoyed that he did. So he wasn't really the worst, just... Creepy sometimes.

He was fairly sure Treize Khushrenada had always been a little creepy and strange, beneath the performance, and perhaps no one had yelled at him to knock it off when he was young enough for it to have actually sunk into his brain. "Mmm, yes. Sorry."

"It's a good thing I like you." Even if he felt a bit sullen about it. Why shouldn't he? Still, he paused and licked his lips. "Do you want to..."

"See?" That was a yes, and he leaned over a bit, expression curious as to what Wufei might have caught on film and _caught on film._

It was easy enough, in the end, to separate out the things that needed to be sent to Duo; after all, it had been the most recent files, so it wasn't much of a problem. He got everything together, and then looked at Treize. "So. Ah."

Treize was looking less worried and more sly for a moment, shifting in a little closer once he'd sent those important file snips off to Duo. "Maybe we should retire to the bedroom before we see what was accidentally filmed."

Dark eyes blinked. "I... didn't pack anything for..."

"Hmn, just enjoy feeling you." A hand settled at his back, at the gap between his shirt and his pants. He leaned in to kiss Wufei's neck.

With a sigh, he leaned back and let him. "So, the bedroom then." Why not? He had given all the information he had, he wasn't able to impact anything that was going on because they were targets, and he had wanted to loiter in bed with Treize when the morning had started. With the cameras still running. Knowing full well that the fantastic blowjob of the night before had been filmed, too.

Treize stood and offered his hand, pulling Wufei up and against him, chest to chest even if Wufei was a good few inches shorter. It didn't matter, and he accepted the kiss that came his way. "Bedroom," he said again, waving vaguely in what was probably the right direction.

Agreement came in pulling him along; Treize seemed to know where he was going, having been in the palace previously. The bedroom was absurd, the walls blue and gold filigree with white highlights and a massive bed pushed up against the wall. "I'll work harder not to be..." Creepy, Wufei guessed.

Wufei nodded. "Good. Maybe I'll try and think of it as..." Less bizarre than it was. "I feel like this is a place no one would ever have sex." All of the filigree was somehow threatening. He didn't know.

"It helps if you're drunk and it's dark." That was clearly the voice of experience, but Treize was smiling at him, a hand lingering down at his hip. "This has all been very strange."

And everything felt like it, he was sure of that. "Bed?" Because they could look at the footage and see how terrible it probably was. 

"Yes." Treize still had a hand light on Wufei's back, and there was something comfortable, intimate about having a partner undress him. Another kiss, like a distraction as he started to pull lightly at Wufei's shirt.

He wondered if they would even get to the video at this rate. "Hmm, I, I think.. oh, that's nice."

The skimming of fingers, idly pressing against his skin, the warmth and closeness of Treize for a moment before he leaned back to pull Wufei's shirt off. "It is. You feel wonderful."

And he capitulated. It was so easy with Treize, easy just to give in and let himself give everything over. "Mhmmm." That was probably the real reason he wasn't pissed off about the staircase. Something in Treize just made him want to melt. It was the same thing Mu Tsu had had, he thought. He couldn't put a name to it, but perhaps it was a sense that there was no malice involved. Treize walked him gently back to the bed, kissing slowly at his jaw and neck until he sprawled back on the bed. "I thought we were going to check the video." He sounded breathless. He felt it, too, shivers and incredible willingness.

"Not fun without a little warmup." He shrugged out of his shirt and sweater easily, dropping it to the floor before crawling up to crouch over Wufei as he kissed him.

"Sounds like the voice of experience," Wufei managed between kisses, and yes. He definitely loved how much Treize enjoyed kissing. It was satisfying in and of itself.

Slow and leisurely, accompanied with lingering touches that drove him past arousal. The mattress was a little ridiculously soft beneath them, the duvet too puffy, and Treize laughed, pulling back a little while he unbuttoned Wufei's pants.

"I feel like I'm being swallowed by this thing." Never mind the hands on him, or his own hands making a much more intimate acquaintance with Treize's back and shoulders.

"It's horrible," Treize agreed, pressing back against his fingers, kissing his way down to Wufei's chest, his nipples. It was leisurely this time, less intense. "I've been thinking about tying you up sometime."

_Ohhh._

"You're terrible," Wufei said again, but he meant it almost as much as he had meant it the first time. "The absolute worst." 

"Haven't done it in ages, but the urge is there, and you'd look very pretty. You'd feel very good." He started to toe off his shoes because Treize was definitely going to have him naked in short order.

"Okay." Okay, yes, to basically anything. "Yes. Maybe not here, though." There were some things that no one needed to know. Ever.

"Not here." He was agreeable as he edged Wufei's pants down. There was a little lingering by the bandage, a bit of a frown at him. "Needs to be changed."

"Hm? Oh. Yes." Yes, but Treize was _touching him,_ so... so now was not the time. Right?

That frown intensified.

He leaned in to kiss Wufei's cheek, and then abandoned him three fourths undressed to the bed, heading back to the main room to grab Wufei's bag. "Meds and bandages here, or?"

"Yes." He called it and dropped his head back on the soft pillow, sighing. On the one hand, someone was paying attention. On the other hand, someone was paying attention to entirely the wrong thing. But back on the other hand, obviously he cared.

Cared about more than the sex, though the sex was very nice, very nice indeed. He was still lying there when Treize came back, having stopped to wash his hands before he sat beside Wufei, setting the supplies on the bed. He clearly knew how to change a dressing, moving smoothly to peel the old one off, using a little rubbing alcohol and a sterile pad to clean the edges of the stitches. "It's red."

That probably wasn't good, and Wufei frowned at it. "I've been taking the meds they gave me." He might have missed a dose, but not more than one. That had been the night Treize had laid him so hard that he'd barely remembered his name, much less his meds.

"Could be over-use." Treize gestured for Wufei to look at it, like Wufei had a damn clue either, before inspecting the ointments and meds. "You've done a lot the last few days."

"Maybe. It doesn't hurt more than usual." Maybe it felt a little warm, but it would do if he'd strained it. Probably.

"Okay." He finished the cleaning, and then opened and applied the sterile bandage. "You're going to rest."

"But..."

But. Very much but, because they'd been working their way toward making out and maybe more, and Wufei wanted to protest. He did. But his creepster boyfriend (probably? They weren't partners, they were just... he didn't even know.) seemed to have decided that it was better if he stayed still and where he was.

He was nice enough to finish undressing Wufei, to shrug out of his own clothes, check that Wufei hadn't missed any doses recently, and then crawled into the ridiculous bed with him, and the stupidly fluffy duvet. So at least there was that. Cuddling was absolutely underrated as an event in Wufei's opinion, but he'd had Meiran and Mu Tsu and both of them had believed in the power of lying limb on limb with one another. Apparently, he'd had the good fortune of finding someone else who was also fond of it, and Wufei had no objections to that. In fact, he found himself yawning in short order, eyes closing. He'd clearly been more stressed about everything than he'd thought he would be. It was a relief to close his eyes and let go after all the stress of hiding in the stairwell while someone rifled their apartments.

He turned his face into Treize's shoulder, laid an arm across his chest, and very shortly passed into sleep.

* * *

Wufei had needed sleep. He was still healing, and in his excitement, Treize hadn't been as mindful of that as he should have been. Even though he had seen Wufei getting shot, it still... felt distant.

Working on remotely piloted vehicles did strange things to a person's head.

He was still asleep, and hadn't even rolled over when Treize carefully slid out from beneath him. He'd had intentions of calling for tea so that when Wufei woke, there would be something there. They'd missed lunch, after all. To his surprise, there was a very soft knock on the door before he even picked up the line.

He was glad he'd slipped his trousers back on, because it was easy to pull his shirt and sweater off the floor, pulling it down over his head as he walked toward the door. They were in a safe place, the palace at Sanc. Whoever was on the other side of the door was one of theirs, he reminded himself as he answered the door.

Thank god it actually was, although finding himself visited by Queen Relena and the head of the Preventers probably wasn't anything other people would consider normal.

It did make him glad that he had stopped to pull on a shirt, though he was barefoot as he stepped back to let them in. Nothing to be done about that, and of the two of them he was much more concerned about the impression he gave Lady than the impression he gave Zechs's surviving family member. "Wufei is asleep."

"Of course," Anne replied, moving smoothly into the sitting room. "It's been a very busy few days for someone recovering from surgery."

Relena swept in behind her. "Hello, Your Excellency."

He gave her a tight smile in greeting and closed the door behind them, trying to gauge what they were there for. With news, obviously, or Lady would have come alone; he didn't think he needed to worry about them handing him back in some sort of strange hostage exchange because the key players in the world were, well, safe, with one of them owning the palace they were in and looking very at ease with herself. "Any news?"

"Yes. Dorothy is finalizing your return to life as we speak. In regards to paperwork. We'll handle announcements of other sorts as we go, but it'll be more difficult if people know you're alive." That much was undoubtedly true. "Preventer Wind is currently getting images of the people who invaded your house on the wire so that we can identify and arrest them." Anne's smile was vicious. He definitely recognized that expression. "We caught Copper trying to leave the Preventers building."

"That's good news." Treize leaned against a nearby sideboard, close to them as they sat down but not inviting himself to sit with them. If he was considered alive, it would be harder for someone to kidnap him, he supposed.

After all, someone might notice if he were dragged kicking and screaming through the streets.

Relena moved in and seated herself in the wingback chair to the right of the sofa. "You and Preventer Mercury are, of course, welcome for as long as it takes to locate the people who invaded your homes."

"Thank you." Looking for him. He didn't want to think about it; it wasn't something he could really deal with if he wanted to remain calm and collected. "We'll need to get new doors put in. Blood off the floor. Wind is very effective."

Anne smiled, and leaned her head forward. "Yes, I have to admit, I've always found him so. Remarkably, the two of them killed very few people on their way out of the lunar base a few years ago. Considering their previous body count, it was quite something."

Another quiet knock came at the door, and Relena bid them enter. It turned out to be tea, more suitable for two than four. "We have no plans to stay for long," she advised. "But I did want to be sure that you were comfortable and ask if you prefer to have meals with others or to keep to yourselves while we're making sure of your safety."

"Wufei needs more rest than he's been giving himself. And I..." He managed something rueful and apologetic to them both, though Lady needed to hear none of it. "I'm afraid I'm not good dinner company."

"Of course." Relena bowed her head graciously. "Then do just call the kitchens and advise them when and what you would like to have. I feel sure that they will meet your expectations."

"Thank you for opening your home to us." To him, given that he had thrown her out of her governmental seat, that he had fought with her brother. That he was anything but peaceful.

She looked so much like her mother.

"Of course." She smiled easily, as if there were nothing particularly impressive about it, as if she didn't care. "I'm always willing to help where I can."

"And if you need anything else, do call me," Anne advised. "Truly. You're both Preventers and as such I prefer that my people be properly cared for, particularly with such an event as this."

Semi-work related, but not. In a way. He wondered sometimes what he'd be doing if he were still with White Fang, but it felt so far off. Years and years ago when it was still really very close and he was just trying to put it behind him. As fast as he could. "Now we know who's been in the files."

"I've given Wind the opportunity to interrogate her. He's invited Preventer Carbon to participate, so doubtless we should gain all of the necessary information with minimal damage. If any." Anne waved one hand. "In any case. That's to worry about later. For now your tea is getting cold, and we undoubtedly have a great deal more to accomplish this afternoon."

"Please let us know if there's... additional information we can give. Or if we can help." He wanted to help but he also knew he was too close to it to be useful.

And Relena was watching him with keenness when she thought he wasn't looking at her.

It made him itch, made him feel wrong and worried about what she was thinking behind those eyes, blue the same shade as Mirialdo's had been. Maybe that was what was bothering him so much about it. She rose, every inch the regal queen. "We have a meeting in half an hour, so unfortunately we must take our leave."

"Of course." He was standing there clearly rumpled and in his bare feet; the tea was going to go back with him to the bedroom, and then he was going to crawl back under the duvet and wake Wufei. He waited for them both to move, shadowing them. "Thank you, Queen Relena. Lady."

"Of course," Relena murmured, stepping to the door.

"I'll be in touch," Anne told him, rising to follow her. "Have a good afternoon, Treize."

"Thank you." It was stressful, she was so busy, and he wasn't going to press just then. There had been a mole in the organization, and it was one thing to be helping to find it and another to be orchestrating the clean up.

Once they were gone, it was easy enough to organize the tea tray and take it into the bedroom. Wufei was still where he had left him, curled and warm beneath the duvet, his face faintly flushed with sleep.

It was strange, how calm he felt with him. The other end of the way Wufei felt about how fast they had moved. He leaned, sliding his fingers slowly through Wufei's hair. He wasn't surprised when Wufei sighed and turned into the touch, cheek nuzzling its way into Treize's palm. He opened his eyes and gave a fuzzy sort of smile. "Hi." His voice was a little raspy with sleep, and Treize was fairly certain that he loved the sound of it.

"Hi." Soft and welcoming, and he leaned in to kiss his mouth lightly. "They caught her. And we slept through lunch, so there's tea."

"Oh." It was a word that brushed against his lips, and Treize couldn't help nuzzling in for another. "I didn't realize I was so tired."

"You are." And it worried him, but Wufei had done too much too fast and he had clearly encouraged it. "Snacks and sandwiches, though. C'mon, sit up."

"Sure." He did, bare chested, wearing only a pair of boxers. "Sorry I fell asleep on you." He gave another yawn. "Damn."

He stroked his fingers through Wufei's hair, carding gently. "We both overestimated how well you were feeling." Or had he been feeling better but wasn't now? Or was Treize just feeling suspicious? He pulled away a little to pour tea for him, to start.

"Did you at least get something like a nap?" He was beginning to wake up now, and that was quite a bit better. He seemed a lot more like himself now. "We didn't even get to check the feed." Which was still up and running, so they would know if anyone came back to the apartment. Not Treize's, but that was already a disaster so he wasn't that worried about it.

They had knocked things off counters and tables out of spite; but he had nothing of his old life with him to be upset about losing. The few things that could've been considered heirlooms that hadn't already been inherited by someone else because he was presumed dead had been given to Mariemaia. It was just a sense of familiarity and peace in his space that had been broken, a little decorating; it could be dealt with later. "We have time for that."

"Good." Leaning up, Wufei stole another kiss before taking the tea cup, his stomach growling. "And apparently I really did miss lunch."

"You also missed Lady and Relena. Wind and Carbon are interrogating Copper now to see what the extent and who else might've been helping her." He placed sandwiches and a couple of small croissants on a plate to start Wufei off and was unsurprised when he immediately picked up one with ham and cucumber.

"Then she's probably wetting herself right about now. Heero believes interrogations start off best with a gun held to someone's face and proceeds from there," Wufei advised. The small sandwich was done with in short order.

"Yes, I remember." Still, he was long on talk and light on actual murder, unlike Wufei. "He came to kill me in Luxembourg." And had left with Epyon. He still wondered how Heero and Zechs had traded Gundams. He'd probably never know. That or it was fully written up in dozens of history novels. Could be either one.

"That's why I came to Earth," Wufei told him. "More or less specifically. Didn't work out quite the way I expected."

He ate a croissant of his own, and sipped at dark bitter tea, watching Wufei's face. "Logically we shouldn't even be talking. How many times have we wounded each other?"

"Mentally or physically?" Wufei's face didn't change when he said it. "More than I can count, to be honest. The first time I heard your name was when my wife died."

He shifted, calf pressed against Wufei's thigh on his good side, let himself feel anxiety and exhaustion and fear all at once, letting it do what it wanted. He didn't really need the tea then, because thinking about it, remembering it, made him feel wide awake. "My men wanted to go back for the Gundams. I thought, let's see what they do if they complete them; they've earned a chance to strike back against the Alliance."

"The pilot who killed her said it was for you. After that..." Wufei shrugged, sipped from his tea cup. "That's why I bombed the base at Victoria."

"Yes, her Tallgeese almost destroyed my Leo. She was a natural pilot." He said it and waited for a reaction. There were so many things undiscussed and un-dealt with that was it any wonder he had wanted to stay Iron?

When he looked up, he could see the sheen in Wufei's eyes. "Is today just the day you've decided to tell me all of the horrible things? Because I have to say, I would perhaps appreciate it a bit more if you stretched them out." 

"Terrible habit; it's a wonder anyone talks to me still." He shifted closer, if Wufei would let him, to put an arm over his shoulders. "Did check a few other dates and can say I wasn't involved in them." He wasn't going to bring up what those dates were, wisely he thought.

"What were you doing there? He just said the kill was for you. And yes, she was a natural pilot. She was a natural everything. She was perfect, and you came to our colony and you killed her." Wufei's brows were knit and his eyes were closed, and when the tear fell, Treize wasn't sure if it surprised him or not.

"Putting down the rebellion for the Alliance. And then Septum showed up with _bio_ weapons, which were uncalled for, and... you were there for it." He didn't need to explain how it had gone, and he felt Wufei's shoulders shiver where another man's might have heaved.

One hand raised, rubbed at his face. "Just. Are there any more terrible things you need to tell me? Because I would very much like to get it out of the way, so that I can have a good proper moping angry session and maybe... maybe get it over with."

"I don't carry a list." He pressed his forehead against Wufei's temple, and was unable to find anything immediately. "Nothing else I did to you." That he could remember immediately, no, L5 had been quite enough hadn't it?

He wondered for a moment if Wufei would manage to pull himself together. After a few short breaths, he pulled himself together, lifted his cup to his mouth. Treize was sure he saw it shake, but he didn't mention it. He sat there quietly instead, for a long moment. "You don't have to get over it. I... these things aren't without impact."

Wufei took a deep breath, lowered his shaking tea cup. "I won't ever get over her death. I've accepted that."

He moved his free hand to touch the back of Wufei's fingers, gently steadying him. "You loved her."

"Yes." Yes, and maybe he'd never love Treize because of what he'd said. What he'd done. His face was damp, and Treize reached up to cup his chin, rub his thumb over the tracks. It made his throat hurt. Still, better to be honest and unloved than a well loved liar. He leaned in, kissed both wet cheeks with a lingering touch of his mouth, and pulled back to look at Wufei, to wait and see what he was or wasn't going to do.

"The bio weapons were long lived. They took Mu Tsu and my mother. The Alliance deserved everything I ever did to them." When he looked up at Treize, there was nothing but sadness there. "You deserved what I did to you." Fought him and fought him and fought him. "But we've all been punished enough now. And I don't have the heart it would take to keep punishing you."

"Would it help if I told you what they did?" He let the fingers of his left hand drift, back to the edge of Wufei's jaw; he could feel, too, his own heart beat hammering away, throbbing in his throat somehow.

"I don't know." The fact that he didn't seem to have any urge to apologize or try to do something ridiculous like declare a need to man up was... nice. It was very nice, in fact. "Maybe."

"They started easy -- hydrogen peroxide on the burns." A bit less than half his face, his shoulder front and back, his side, his flank, down to his knee. He remembered those early days in a hazy way; he supposed the pain had made it hard to encode the memories. "I didn't talk. They wanted Gundams. ZERO. Once they were sure I wasn't going to die, it moved to formal interrogations. Handcuffed to a table. They'd show me schemas, ask questions. Lost track of how many times I was raped cuffed to that table. Wasn't the only one there at first, I heard other screams, shouting, begging. Eventually they started to put me in the salvaged cockpit. By then I was sure they were playing my own voice back at me. The others were dead."

"Fuck, no. No, that... That wasn't what I meant, Jesus, fuck. No." Wufei was so pale that he seemed a little green, and his pupils were dilated, swallowing the dark grey of them.

He was quiet for a few beats, and then managed, "Pretty sure I hit my head a few times in there, so perhaps. More specific on what you meant."

"I thought you meant the bio weapons. I. I don't... if you need to talk about it, it's fine, but I don't, I don't need to know that. I don't." And his face was still wet. There were still tears, and he was fucking this up so much.

He was unbelievably bad at giving someone what they wanted, what they were asking for. Treize wiped at Wufei's cheek again, and swallowed, thumb lingering, unsteady. The urge to laugh at himself was high, and hard to shake. "No, I didn't, never figured out why they did that. Septem ordered it. His murder was one of the things I hold dear from the war."

And that got him a smile, even if the tears kept coming. "Good. Mine, too. Tell me about that, instead."

"While the other pilots took care of the shuttle full of 'peaceful' generals -- worst propaganda the Alliance tried -- Septem was on the shuttle with Lady and myself. She held him at gunpoint for his little statement for the camera, and then I shoved him out of the airlock." He leaned in again to kiss Wufei's cheek, wishing he could wind back the last ten minutes, perhaps. "I vaguely recall she shot him."

"As he fell?" Treize hummed agreement. "She's more frightening than I thought." Yes, but that seemed to have done away with the tears. He could probably use a tissue. Then he kissed Wufei's forehead, felt him sigh, relax. "It's been a very emotional day."

"Yes." And he was going to pretend that he hadn't thought Wufei had wanted to hear about everything Treize had had coming, and perhaps he could get away with that. "I'll get you another sandwich and you could probably use more sleep." He was pondering his own anxiety meds just then.

Wufei nodded, and the bed would probably have crumbs when they were done, but it was fine. He glanced to the side. "Would you. Would you stay?"

He was halfway to the tea tray that he'd set nearby, and put the rest of the funny small sandwiches on a plate for them to pick through. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You thought I wanted to hear about people torturing you." And his face looked... Treize wasn't sure. Regretful, pained, worried?

"I." He covered his mouth with the fingers of one hand for a moment, trying to work it through as he sat back down, sandwiches on offer again. "I deserved it. Given everything I did."

"No one deserves that. No one. Certainly not you. So don't, don't say that. Whatever else may have happened. You don't. You didn't." And now Wufei's hand was on him, pulling him in, forehead to forehead. "The past is something we all have to live with. Some more than others. You more than others." He paused. "Just. Maybe don't do anything weird and stalkery anytime soon."

"Okay. It -- not happening again." He closed his eyes tightly, and added softly, "Stalkery at least. I would gladly give you my pain if it ever does help. Perhaps weird is harder not to do."

He could feel the little hiccough of breath that passed for a laugh. "Yeah. I, weird is okay. Just not weird _and_ stalkery. I think I've had enough of that, even if you being weird and stalkery did save our lives just a little. Mine anyway." Because he had to know they'd have taken Treize back to that fresh hell.

He felt numb and sick thinking about going back to it, the weeks and weeks of it, endless, their frustration with his non cooperation mounting with every failed attempt. He ate a bit of sandwich -- smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and sour cream, familiar and more than acceptable as he chewed -- and leaned into Wufei. "I felt like a child who'd opened their closet and found actual Narnia."

"My apartment was Narnia?" Possibly that sounded a bit crazy, but it got him a smile. "So long as you didn't find any lions, I think we're okay."

"No lions." Just fastidious spaces and a sense of fascination he shouldn't have indulged. Or perhaps it had worked out okay. "Drink some more tea, and I'll message Wind, and then... perhaps we can quit for the day." For the rest of the day, for the evening, like day drinking without the alcohol to make everything blurry.

Then again, he had meds. That could certainly make up for the blurriness. "I vote that we quit for the week. Possibly I shouldn't have fought to go back to work quite so soon," Wufei admitted ruefully.

"Possibly I should have been gentler with you that first night." He gave another bite or two of sandwich, and got up to get his own meds, and water. He turned on the bathroom light as he passed it on the way to his duffle bag, so it was more obvious which weird niche in the room it was tucked into, because surely Wufei needed that after so long.

"Bring mine, too?" Wufei called, and then Treize could hear him yawn again. "And no way." Well. Yes. He had most definitely enjoyed himself, there was no denying that.

Still. There was time to do it again, better to get to it again without aggravating injury. Later.

Treize grabbed a t-shirt and shorts, and then didn't bother with the t-shirt as he offered Wufei his meds first. He liked skin on skin, even if he was tired of being interrupted while naked.

Shit and he needed to message Wind. That was easy, a quick _'we're tired, going to sleep early. ping if anything interesting or can help on,'_ and then the datapad ended up abandoned to the bedside table. "I should brush my teeth and pee," Wufei told him, but he was yawning again, taking the offered meds. He took the pain meds, which Treize was pretty sure he'd been trying to do without.

"Yes. Salmon and scrambled eggs make for terrible morning breath." He waited to help if Wufei needed it.

He seemed to manage getting out of bed okay, just stumbled a bit. The meds tended to kick in quickly, especially when he'd put off taking them for a while. "Yeah." 

Unsurprisingly, they found fresh toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom, as well as anything else someone might need. It was quite nice, all told, and they stood side by side, brushing their teeth together. Wufei yawned periodically, but he managed to do the necessary ablutions and was, as Treize had learned, utterly not shy about peeing in front of anyone.

He'd been broken of any shyness at a young age, but it was still impressive to see in people who hadn't been in some sort of corps. Treize finished, washed his hands, and shadowed Wufei to bed after he stopped to pull the curtains closed. The anti anxiety meds were making him feel muzzy, loose, and it would be nice to crawl into bed beside Wufei and just sleep.

They'd both sleep, in fact, considering the pain meds and the anxiety meds. That was all right, too. The temperature was cool, and the duvet was perfectly warm. Wufei was already close to sleep again, and he sighed, laid his head on Treize's shoulder.

He could live a life like that, love or not love.


	2. Chapter 2

When he woke, it was early, or possibly very late. Wufei hadn't moved much, and Treize's arm was numb as a result. He was plastered to Treize's side, limp and flushed with sleep, sticky with sweat in a way that left Treize wanting a bath just a bit.

He rolled Wufei onto his back, moving with him, and found him surprisingly unresponsive. That was enough to get him grabbing for his datapad, and to his feet. He dialed for Lady first, not quite sure what time it was.

Early. Possibly too early, and Wufei gave a mumble of sound that made no sense, eyes unopened, but it was clear that it wasn't sleep that was causing the flush.

 _"This had better be good."_ Lady sounded as if she were still asleep and hadn't even noticed precisely who was calling.

He was glad he had kept it to an audio call. "Wufei is running a fever and is unresponsive. It's probably the bullet crease."

That seemed to snap her awake because she sounded more coherent when next she spoke. _"Have you... never mind, you wouldn't have, you don't have anything there, let me..."_ That seemed to be sufficient to get her into the appropriate mode. _"Keep an eye on him. If it gets worse, let me know. I'll have someone there shortly."_

"Thank you." He hung up, and moved to turn a light on, getting a glass of water. He peeled the duvet back from Wufei, too, trying to expose him to cold air.

It was clear that he didn't like it. One hand pawed around in search of it and then fell limply to his side as if it took too much effort to find it. He swallowed with a dry clicking sound and then whined, pawing for it again.

Treize knelt by him, and pulled him half upright to get him to drink some of the water. "Good morning. You need to drink this."

That, at least, seemed to get him a response; Wufei slitted open his eyes and looked at him, blinked, and then muttered something in Mandarin. It sounded a lot like it probably meant _fuck you, no,_ although Treize couldn't be certain.

He could guess at the tone, perhaps, but he pressed the edge of the glass against his lips, waiting for a response that indicated Wufei was tracking what he was trying to do. "C'mon."

That earned him a vague paw of one hand, and then Wufei obediently opened his mouth and drank. Apparently the taste of the water was quite appealing because he began to drink from it thirstily, and it helped the click of his throat, helped in general. "'s good," Wufei muttered when he managed to finish off the glass. He still wasn't very coherent.

He sat there, keeping Wufei upright, while he idly ran a hand against his back. "How do you feel?"

"Like hell." His voice was raspy, and he yawned. "M'leg hurts."

"I know. Lady is bringing help. You probably have an infection." He probably needed to be under observation and it was so early in the day.

"Uuuugh." That sound was more cranky and less disagreement, Treize was pretty sure. "Can't. 's better to stay here with you. Gotta. Gotta stay here with you."

"It's a good hospital," he said, holding him a little closer, a little more supportively. "Just lean against me until they get here."

"M'kay." For a second, that was all he thought he'd get. Then Wufei spoke up again. "Dun wanna." His fingers were loose tugging things, pulling at Treize as if it might help something. He wasn't sure what, and then Wufei yawned and closed his eyes, resting his head against him.

Definitely feverish, then.

"I know. But you'll feel better soon." And help was metaphorically on its way. He suspected Lady was back home in her apartment with Mari and the live in, and she was trying to figure out for them how to get help there with little fuss.

With a sigh, Wufei sprawled out over him, going limp and quiet again. He started to shiver somewhere along the way, frowning, and that left Treize a fretful mess. He knew Lady was working on it, and he should have woken up sooner, known something was wrong, but.

It was just a little past three a.m., though, so perhaps he hadn't been as unaware as he thought. He slipped fingers down to keep a check on Wufei's pulse, waiting. It was steady enough, but the heat that was coming off of him was worrisome. He wanted to look at the injury, but that would require moving Wufei and he didn't want to do that. Instead, he sat and gently stroked sweaty hair back off of his face. It was just a waiting game, at which he was both excellent and terrible. He was still groggy, but eventually there was a knock on the door, and then someone unlocked it from the outside. "Okay, help's here, Wufei."

He was back to getting no answer, although he was at least sure that whoever came in would be there to help.

"Hello?" That was Relena, and he heard footsteps coming toward the bedroom, more than one person. "Treize?" She knocked, and he bid her enter. Behind her was someone he didn't know, which automatically made him tense. "Anne called," Relena advised, "and said that Dr. Berlinger would be here shortly, so I brought him up."

He was glad he'd turned on the lights, though he was suddenly half self-conscious as he sat there, holding Wufei. Facing down Relena and someone she said was a doctor. "The bullet wound was a little red yesterday, and now he's feverish and non-responsive."

The doctor nodded and moved forward, putting his bag on the end of the bed and opening it to pull out a stethoscope and a thermometer. "If you can shift him so that you're both comfortable and I can reach him properly, Your Excellency, that would be just fine."

He moved his leg a little, folded it under himself, and eased them both closer to the edge of the bed. Wufei would be glad he'd slept in his boxers as well, if he was conscious as all. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. It's what I'm here for," the good doctor promised with a smile. Leaning in, he put the thermometer in Wufei's ear and depressed a button, checking it with a frown afterward. "Hm." Just that, hm, and he laid it to the side, using the stethoscope then. That didn't seem to cause any further frowning, at least. Just another hum, and then he pulled the covers back further, began unwrapping Wufei's thigh.

Treize watched, steadying Wufei and trying not to pet him inappropriately in that moment. The skin was redder than it had been the night before, and the granulation looked a little less... good. The streaks of red running upward probably weren't a very good sign, at a guess.

Dr. Berlinger hummed to himself and reached into his bag again, this time bringing out a band of rubber and a number of vials, a needle for pulling blood, and an alcohol pad. He tied off the band and then pulled on a pair of gloves, checking Wufei's arm for the vein that he wanted before swabbing it with alcohol and promptly drawing several tubes. "Right. I know what we need, so I will make some phone calls and get the blood tests running as well as swabbing the injury to double check the source of the infection. We should be able to set things aright, I think."

"Yes?" He wanted to ask, _He'll be all right?_ but it was easier to look down at Wufei and pet his hair back away from his face. He looked up and quite made the mistake of letting his eyes drift over Relena.

Her eyes were soft and kind, and perhaps there was a tinge of pity to them that he absolutely despised.

"Yes," the doctor promised. He was still working, and he made a call when he was done, quietly speaking into the phone and asking for a number of different things; IV stand, several things that Treize wasn't listening for and wouldn't understand even if he was. When he hung up, he looked at Treize. "The problem for now is that his fever has gotten quite high. I have some acetaminophen here, and if we can get that down him then that might help. If it doesn't, a cool bath will be a good start until we can get better antipyretics."

He didn't know what antipyretics were, but he nodded as if it were a good thing and eased Wufei upright a little so he could take whatever the doctor had on offer. Wufei would be fine, he would simply be fine. The number of things he had survived -- it was daft to think a bullet crease could be it. He refused to believe it.

The doctor handed him a couple of pills, frowning. "If we can get him to come around, it would be best. Lacking that..." And then he held up a finger thoughtfully and dug in the bag again. "Mortar and pestle, not something people use a great deal, I must say."

Treize petted at his cheek, trying to gently get him alert enough. "He drank water earlier."

It gained him a mutter, and finally a flutter of lashes., Wufei obviously cranky. "St'p."

"Hey. We need you to take something." He nudged the pills up against Wufei's mouth, to see if he'd respond.

He made a vague annoyed sound, but when Treize put them in his mouth, Wufei took them, and also Treize's fingers, which was vaguely embarrassing. He let them go and sipped from the cup Treize brought up next, obediently enough, only sputtering a little. "'s hot."

"Trying to make it less hot for you," he said agreeably, looking up at the doctor who, it had sounded, ordered the better part of a hospital to be brought. This was a great deal more convenient for them and clearly less convenient for everyone else, not that Treize could bring himself to care. Not when Wufei was hot and sticky against him, shivering.

He kept his focus on Wufei, waiting for him to feel less hot and shivery. "When do we try a cold bath?"

"Give the medicine a bit of time to work," the doctor murmured. "Queen Relena, may I speak to you privately for a moment? Nothing to worry about with the patient, of course, just to make the appropriate arrangements as I'm sure your security staff will find it necessary."

"Of course. We'll just step outside." He waited for them both to step outside, and closed his eyes, stroking at Wufei's side while he waited for... Something, some sign Wufei was feeling a little better.

He didn't know how much time passed. He wasn't paying attention to time, he was paying attention to Wufei, and however long it took, he did finally yawn and stop shivering, curling into Treize a bit more naturally. Felt less strained, more like he might ease back into something like real sleep. He was going to sit up and wait until whatever was being brought in was done. However they thought best to treat him, he wasn't going to relax just yet.

"Feel gross," Wufei finally muttered, sighing. "'m so gross."

Hearing him was a relief, even if it was muttered assurance. "We'll get you bathed after this. Just waiting for the doctor to come back."

"Mhm." Wufei let out another long, slow breath. "Everything feels bad. Can I have water?"

"Yes." He grabbed the glass to give Wufei what was left, and waited until he was done to sort of unwind himself from Wufei to get more water.

"And a damp cloth?" Wufei requested. It wasn't loud, but Treize was listening for even the slightest of sounds so he didn't miss it.

He didn't hesitate, running a washcloth until it was ice cold, and the water that Wufei needed. It was easy to settle back beside him, offering the water first, holding it steady while he wiped at Wufei's chest. That moan would normally have him in bed fondling Wufei. Apparently the washcloth was more than sufficient to get him to the same place. "That feels..." His eyes closed and he sighed. "Hmmm. Yes. Much better."

Treize wiped carefully at Wufei's neck, his shoulders, then down over his stomach. "They're going to be getting you IV medications. How do you feel?"

"Better now that I'm not so sweaty." Obviously still a little bleary, and he yawned again. "Tired. Achy. Terrible."

He wiped Wufei down again, and then set the washcloth aside, stroking at his hair again. "Better than unconscious."

"When was..." Wufei frowned, but then he rolled his head and settled it against Treize's shoulder. "Never mind."

"Just close your eyes and doze. When the doctor comes back..." He would tuck Wufei in for sleep, and see if there was anything else he could do. Another hum, and then Wufei settled against him. Maybe it was Treize's imagination, but he seemed less hot. He desperately hoped it wasn't his imagination.

* * *

When Wufei finally woke and knew something other than heat and sweatiness and generally feeling terrible, it was a relief. He blinked open his eyes, still feeling gritty and in need of a bath, and then closed his eyes and opened them again.

Apparently he had gained a few things in the night. 

Or... whatever. Treize was lounging beside him, dozing on a sideways pillow, a hand idling on Wufei's chest. The IV line leading into his arm, and the sheer amount of tape was interesting.

He moved his other arm a little and was shocked when Treize's eyes opened immediately, blue and startled, pupils dark. "Oh. Sorry I woke you."

"You're okay." Maybe it wasn't a statement, maybe it was a question. The hand on his chest stretched and relaxed. "Do you want more water?"

"Yes, please? And I... do I have to pee?" Wufei blinked and frowned.

"You do not." Treize twisted a little, leaning on an elbow and seemingly keeping Wufei still. "Your injury partially closed up with infection in it."

"Oh." Well, that did explain things, he was pretty sure. Reasonably. Frowning, he lifted the covers. Well. That would certainly explain why he didn't need to visit the bathroom. Obviously they'd decided that he shouldn't be moving around. At some point he'd been stripped naked, and someone had put a catheter in him as well as a fresh wound covering.

"Yes." Treize didn't settle down yet, kept watching him. "I'll get you water and tell them you're awake."

"Them?" Wufei pushed up on an elbow, feeling a little weak. This sucked. "Who's them?"

The hand on his chest pushed, a firm insistence that he stay where he was, while Treize began to get out of the bed. He was still wearing just the boxer briefs he'd had on the night before. "The doctor. It was Relena with him this morning. It might be a nurse by now. Or Duo. You were very feverish and I called Lady." He turned on the light to the bathroom, and ran the tap to fill a glass with water. "If you're awake, you could eat something."

Well, yes. He was maybe a little hungry. "Yes, please." He frowned. "I don't feel that bad, I don't think. Just a little weak, I suppose." And in need of a bath. He'd also like to take a look at his thigh.

"You were completely unresponsive for a while this morning. Not eight hours ago." He held the water glass out, settling back beside him again on the bed.

"Huh." He remembered absolutely none of that. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was feeling quite that bad."

"Last night was rough and that's my fault. If you were already feeling poorly..." Treize's mouth settled into the familiar tight line, as he put a hand at Wufei's back while he sat up. "Just glad you're responding to the antibiotics."

"I vaguely remember something about Narnia?" Wufei frowned. "I didn't want to be Azlan." He wasn't entirely sure how he even knew who that was. Did he know who that was? "Something about a lion."

"The stairwell." He was reaching behind Wufei once Wufei had the glass in his own hands, and pulling pillows up to prop between him and the headboard. "I'm going to see who I can find."

"Okay." It wasn't as if he had the energy to protest in any grand way. He mostly just needed a drink and possibly breakfast. Shifting revealed that he didn't need his pain meds, so at a guess they were probably giving him something good. Treize stopped on the way to the door to pick up his t-shirt, shrugging into it, and to grab a pair of pants from the duffle bag. It was a shame because the view had been lovely, and his ass was nicely defined, muscled just so from all the running. And then he stepped outside of the bedroom.

Which left Wufei alone, in need of a bath, and bored.

He drank all of the water, adjusted his position with care, and then waited. He could hear Treize talking -- on the phone, maybe? Just at a guess. Hopefully there would be breakfast soon.

"Breakfast is coming. Brunch. Duo is glad you're alert again." That sounded like there had actually been something to be concerned about. Treize sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why does Duo even know? Was I... was it that bad?" Wufei frowned, and held out the glass. "More please?"

Treize leaned in for a moment, and pressed the back of his hand against Wufei's forehead, while he took the glass. "Hmn. Yes, it was that bad. You were non-responsive and very feverish. If there hadn't been a security threat, I think you'd be in hospital right now."

"I apologize if I frightened you. I didn't realize it was..." Wufei waved a hand. "It ached, but I had been doing stupid things like taking my bike to work." Which had not been his best thought out plan, he had to admit.

"And letting me have my way with you." He got up to replace the water, and settled back down beside him. "Won't let you downplay the next time you're injured."

Wufei blinked, licked his upper lip. "That was actually the best part of any given day, I'm fairly certain. Yesterday feels..." It felt fuzzy. It felt weird. "Someone broke into your apartment and then came down to mine."

"They have Copper in custody." Treize seemed to be, not hovering, but on edge, tense. "It was a very long day. You slept a lot. I should have realized, but."

"Why should you have realized?" Wufei frowned and tilted his head to the side. "It was a tiring day." He was fairly certain that was true, that it had been exhausting. They'd sat in a hidden stairwell and Duo had shot someone and they'd gone to the palace.

And then... things got a little fuzzy, and Treize was watching him. "You slept when we got here. And then slept more. It was exhausting, and sleep is always..." He lapsed for a moment, quiet, thinking. "A solution."

"The reset button," Wufei muttered. "And we talked, but I don't..." Wufei waved a hand. "Whatever I might have said, you'll have to forgive me."

The look Treize gave him was deeply suspicious. "No, it was the other way around. Completely. But..." There was a knock at the bedroom door, and he stood up to get it, paranoid and watchful.

Wufei would like to say that it was all right, but he honestly hadn't the faintest idea whether it was or not. When Treize went tense, he went tense, too, until Treize stepped silently to the door and opened it. On the other side was an older maidservant, carrying in a tray with legs beneath it that she set on the bed, a few covered dishes on it. She stepped back to the door and returned with two carafes which were placed on the nightstand. "Please call if you need anything else."

"Yes, thank you." Treize waited by the door, hand on the handle until she had stepped back out, waiting a politely appropriate enough length of time before shutting it.

Then he locked it. Quite firmly, in fact.

Wufei noticed, but his stomach rumbled and he realized that he was very hungry, so he began to pull off the coverings, delighted to find eggs and oatmeal and cardamom buns, fresh fruit, and there was coffee and milk in the carafes. "I don't think I realized I was starving until now."

Treize moved to sit not at the edge of the bed, but on the other side, away from his IV stand, where he'd been dozing before. "You didn't eat much yesterday. With the excitement. I'm sorry about the stairs."

And well he should be. "That was actually making me paranoid." Wufei frowned and then remembered. "And we never got around to watching the accidental porn."

That seemed to brighten Treize's mood a little as he stole a cardamom bun from the tray, turned to face Wufei. "We could check it now."

That was all he'd needed; for Treize to smile like that, obviously pleased at the notion. "I didn't intend to make pornography, it just... happened." It wasn't the best of apologies.

It wasn't even necessary to apologize for it. Treize peeled off a piece of the bun, chewing thoughtfully. "We should do it on purpose. I think your back was to the camera when I sucked you off. Given the way it caught the people who came into the apartment."

That honestly flustered him. "Oh. Well. I suppose that is terrible, yes. But, ah." He shoved a piece of fruit in his mouth and chewed before he spoke again. "I, I'm fairly certain you, ah. That it was a good angle for the other." The night Treize had fucked him so well that he kind of wanted it again now. And he definitely didn't need to consider that when he had a catheter. It would turn unpleasant quickly. Not that he'd ever thought about ejaculating with a catheter before. There were probably people who'd pay good money for a chance to do that.

Treize looked torn between it being a good idea and a terrible idea, and then he just smiled, looking simultaneously tired and pleased. "I'll get you some coffee and find where your datapad ended up."

One the one hand, discomfort. On the other hand, that pleased look on Treize's face. "Please." And by the time he ate, he'd probably need a nap. It felt ridiculous, but there was something exhausting about being sick.

By the time Treize made it back, he was seriously considering asking for the catheter to be removed because he wasn't sure he could watch that without getting hard. It might not be as great to watch as it was to do, but...

He passed Wufei coffee first and then his datapad, expression almost relaxed. Treize was still on alert, monitoring him, maybe, but more relaxed than he had been. Wufei hadn't expected to see get well notifications in chat from not just Wind but some of the others in the office. On the one hand, he hated it when everyone knew his damned business. On the other hand, it was extraordinarily kind. 

"So, come closer." Not so close that his coffee went spilling, and Treize was quite careful as he settled beside him. Beside him, and then touching him, a light pressure of presence without making it more as he watched Wufei a little more than the screen as Wufei navigated to the camera feeds. That felt nice, and he sighed, spearing some more fruit. "I hope this looks as good as it felt."

He could smell Treize's coffee when the other man took a sip of it. "I hope it looks ridiculous. Actual sex usually does." He finished his cardamom bun, and slid an arm behind Wufei's back, a light touch still. "Thought you might die. Of something stupid."

Carefully, Wufei adjusted his position, still munching on fruit. There was rather a lot of it, and it was good. "It's the only way to die." He sounded serious, but he was far from it. If they'd all managed to live through the disaster that was 195 and everything after it, it might even be possible that only dying of something ridiculous and stupid was all that likely. In a joking sort of way, except perhaps not. He scrubbed backward through the video, skipping to the day Treize had first kissed him at the kitchen table. And felt Treize lean in a little more, nuzzling at Wufei's hair.

Which he was sure smelled of sweat.

It didn't seem to bother him, though, and Wufei wondered if that were true for everyone or perhaps just for him. It was interesting as a question, but either way it was enjoyable, and he sighed, letting his fingers work through the video until he was fairly certain he'd found the start of things.

Treize had been right; the kissing looked quite good, him with his head thrown back while sitting at a kitchen chair with Treize molesting him was slightly ridiculous looking, and perhaps a little hot.

But it was nice because he got to see Treize's face from that time when he hadn't been able to concentrate on it before. It was nice enough that the catheter made things uncomfortable, and he had to shift to try and alleviate the problem.

"We're keeping this, right?" Treize's voice dropped husky and quiet, closer to Iron, and he pressed his face against the side of Wufei's neck. "You're gorgeous."

Wufei couldn't help the shiver that worked through him. "You're the one who's gorgeous." Gorgeous because he was clearly enjoying himself, and that was a kind of beauty that Wufei could appreciate.

It was hard to fake enjoying sucking a cock. People did it, but it looked different, felt different, and Treize had definitely been all in. He shifted his hand against Wufei's back, watching the screen halfheartedly. "This is a terrible idea when we can't do anything about it. You're not supposed to get up."

"Shall I close it out?" Wufei didn't bother hiding his smirk.

Treize shifted his other hand down, to idle at his hip, a suggestive brush of knuckles. "My better sense says yes, the rest of me says no."

"We can't do anything about it." And next would be Treize laying him like there was no tomorrow.

Wufei really didn't want that catheter right at the moment. Then again, he also sort of wanted a nap, and he began attempting to finish off his breakfast as the video moved forward. It was fun to make Treize rather unrepentantly horny, hands drifting in a want to but not way, while he stole bits of fruit and drank more coffee. "We're keeping this."

"Oh, I think we are," Wufei agreed, head rolling to rest on Treize's shoulder. Breakfast had been delightful, and finishing off with a cardamom bun made him unrepentantly pleased with himself. "Definitely keeping it."

A knock sounded on the door, and Treize tensed.

"Who is it?" Treize was dressed, and it made Wufei wonder how much half naked roaming around there had been. It was a shame he was dressed because that wasn't the most comfortable way to lounge in bed.

"It's me."

Which meant it could only be one person, because who else ever answered that way? Probably a lot of people, but Duo was the only one who did it consistently so he nodded to Treize and shut off the video.

He slipped out from behind Wufei, taking his body heat and comfortable-to-lean-on torso with him, and got up to unlock the door, stepping back to let Duo in.

"What's this bullshit about randomly getting taken out by an infection?"

Well, that was one way to start a conversation. Wufei shrugged. "I don't really know. I took the meds they gave me. Maybe some combination of overuse and a stronger infection than the meds could fight?" He was absolutely guessing.

"Yeah, you gotta be careful." He grinned at Wufei, picking himself up a chair from the little writing desk that no one had used. "Also you missed all the damn excitement."

"Apparently." Probably more than that, if he were perfectly honest. "So tell me all about it."

"Good news or bad news?" Duo sat down and leaned forward to poke at the porridge on the breakfast tray. "Like there's both, and they're really both and maybe Treize needs to take some anti anxiety drugs before I go on."

Wufei turned and looked at him, then nodded, because if Duo said it then he meant it. Wufei was absolutely sure of that. "He means it," Wufei advised, pushing the oatmeal toward Duo and handing him a spoon. He didn't care if it had already been in Wufei's mouth, Wufei had long since discovered.

"Oh." Treize hesitated, staring at them both for a moment before he stopped to rummage in his duffel bag, frowning.

"Yeah. So we're getting your apartments reinforced, and cameras, and we'll also have Epyon's... pieces here on Earth soon. Ish. I mean we haven't finished the operation but hey, Trowa's excited." Duo started to eat Wufei's oatmeal.

That was quite possibly the strangest non sequitur Wufei had heard lately. "Trowa is excited?" Wufei was fairly certain he'd never seen that occurrence. He wasn't even sure that he believed Duo when he said it.

"Well, for a given quality of excited," Duo shrugged, looking over his shoulder as Treize poured himself a glass of milk to wash down his meds. "Murdering people in space is kinda satisfying."

That was one way to look at it. Generally, Wufei preferred not to look at it that way. At all. "Right. So what precisely do you mean by reinforced?"

"Your Nancy Drew shared staircase kinda makes a near panic room, so getting that lined up for installation is a thing Anne's doing. Both front doors." Treize walked back around the bed, and sat down beside Wufei again, while Duo talked. "The windows are being replaced with resistance glass and we're putting wrought iron swing bars on the outside, so that you'll be able to open them if you want."

It seemed like a lot. "Swing bars?"

Duo waved a hand as he polished off the oatmeal. "Like I know what they're called. They'll, you know. Swing outward or whatever. In case there's a fire or something and you have to scale the outside of the building or some shit."

"Can we get the elevator fixed while they're at it?" Treize asked blandly, lightly pressing shoulder to shoulder with Wufei.

"Pffft. Like either of you would get in it unless you'd worked on it yourself. How dumb do I look?" Duo asked, and promptly declared, "No, don't answer that."

Treize slid fingers down along Wufei's spine. "Well, no, I do prefer the stairs."

All of the stairs, Wufei was fairly certain. "It sounds like a plan. And it also sounds like all of that is the good news." Duo should have told them the bad news first; it probably would have been better for Treize.

He was going to have to see what it was Treize was taking, just so he'd understand it a little better, though he seemed a little loose against Wufei as he sat there. "Uh, also in good news, we have Copper in custody and she's going to be there for the rest of forever. We still have a BOLO out for the other two."

"And the bad news?" One of Wufei's brows arched, sharp and pointed. He knew it must be pretty shitty considering Duo was putting it off.

"There's a lot more going on under the surface. Some of the people who were involved in the Mariemaia army, who backed Dekim Barton, shifted money to this. To... it's not White Fang anymore. They're calling themselves Blue Sun. And they really want a working ZERO system."

Fuck. Which meant they'd do a lot for someone who'd already built one. The fact of the matter was that they'd probably like to get their hands on Gundam pilots, too. "Have we upped security for Quatre, too?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah. And that's information she managed to get once she was inside our facilities, because it wasn't public knowledge that he'd built one. But with the scientists dead..." Duo shrugged his shoulders. "Mech designers are thin on the ground and in high demand. There's even a warring faction who put a higher price on you than Blue Sun."

Wufei could feel Treize behind him, his hand shaking at the small of his back. "It will be fine. We'll destroy them if they even get close."

"That's the plan," Duo said agreeably. "I mean, you're worth more alive than dead, which sort of changes the calculus of protection."

"At least that's something," Wufei offered, then shrugged. "Small favors. Thanks for coming by and letting us know."

"We also have some of their records and communications from Copper's personal records," Duo added, glancing over at Treize. The man shifted a little, as if he could disappear into the pillows piled up behind Wufei. "And we don't need to talk about that, but it's a thing."

Wufei nodded. "So we're prepared and we're working on searching down everyone. Is that more or less the thing of it?"

"Yeah, that's more or less it. When you're up on the net there's some shit I want you to review, but hey. Now is not the time." He tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Definitely not the time," Wufei agreed. "Because I'll be taking a nap in the next hour. Guaranteed." He low-key felt bad, but also good because he'd been fed and he was being held and touched on a regular basis, just... warm and pleasant. Enjoyable.

He wasn't going to think too hard about the catheter or anything else. Treize's hand still felt unsteady against him, and he wasn't talking, after having been rather talkative. "Okay. Okay. You guys good in here, then? Not feeling restless? Cause otherwise the next person coming in is the doctor to poke at you and do vitals and you can probably get left alone for a good..." he glanced at his watch. "Eh, fourteen hours."

Oh. _Oh,_ maybe they could get the catheter taken out. Then again, that would probably just prove to be too much temptation. "That would be great." Maybe post-nap, though.

"All right. I'll get the doc." He gave them a thumbs up, and headed out the door, not pulling it shut behind him. "Hey, he's definitely awake and alert!"

Wufei nodded. "I've heard drill sergeants who couldn't make themselves that loud," he advised Treize. "Do you think we can ask for this thing to be removed?"

His mouth went tight for a moment, and he was looking firmly at Wufei rather than the door. "Yes. I'll help you to the bathroom; you won't be straining that leg."

Reaching up one hand, Wufei caught his jaw, pulled him close and pressed a kiss against his mouth. "I won't if you don't want me to. It's just..." One hand waved at his datapad.

It was just very enjoyable and he could drift off nicely with Treize, who had been just as affected by it as he had; and they hadn't even gotten to the really interesting part, that night or the next. The kiss seemed to relax him, take the teeth out of whatever was going on inside his head. "Yeah. Yes. Hard to resist. Still feel guilty."

"You shouldn't." Wufei pulled back. "It isn't as if we were athletic. Maybe you could have felt guilty if I'd ridden you or if we'd done something outrageous, but it was mostly just. Me being still the way you told me to and you..." Plowing him like it was a religious obligation.

It had certainly felt like an act of worship. Treize leaned back in, kissed where his jaw met his ear, sliding his other arm around him. "I want to be able to do that to you after your second hip replacement, so can't have you dying of something stupid now."

He heard the doctor clear his throat from the doorway. Wufei felt his face go hot, and he cleared his own throat, pulling away guiltily. "Erm." He felt like a teenager who'd been caught making out in a public place instead of like a grown ass adult in his own borrowed bedroom.

"Yes, well." The doctor seemed cheerful enough. "I'm Dr. Berlinger and I'm just here to check on you."

Treize shifted away, slow and careful to give the doctor and Wufei space. The man seemed amused, and Wufei had no recollection of having met him before, though Treize didn't seem concerned. 

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked, pulling out a temperature scanner.

"Tired?" It was more question than answer. "Better than I did, I think. I don't really remember a lot, but I took the pain meds yesterday because everything was aching."

"You had quite the infection raging along." There was a quick swipe check, and he seemed pleased with the result, and then inspected the IV bag. "I'll have a nurse come by in about four hours to swap this out for another one. And once you've completed the second bag, if you continue to improve I have a new regime of oral antibiotics for you to take."

Wufei wanted to ask what would happen if he didn't improve, but he probably didn't want to know. "And the catheter?" Because that was legitimately cramping his style. So to speak.

"Well, now that you're conscious, if you're capable of emptying your bladder yourself with minimal effort..." He lifted an eyebrow at him. "You could always piss in a pot."

"That sounds... horrible," he admitted. "But this is also horrible. And uncomfortable."

He glanced over to where Treize was standing away from the bed, idly flipping through screens on his datapad after having moved the breakfast tray out of the way. "Well, I imagine so. Let's take a look at your leg and then I'll get the catheter out."

He was still wearing boxers, at least, so that was something. "And when can I shower?" he asked, because he felt salty and sticky.

"If we tape it up with plastic, I'd say tomorrow." The doctor gestured to the IV line. "You can hang on another night, given everything you've been through. Your security minded friends were the only thing that deterred me from having you taken to the hospital."

Huh. That seemed excessive to him, but what the hell did he know? Nothing about this, that was for sure. "Okay." Because what else was he going to do except agree? 

Once the covers were down, the doctor snapped on a pair of gloves from his pocket and peeled back the bandages. Wufei had to admit that everything there looked red and hot and disgusting.

It all ended up thrown away immediately, and he started to clean at it, and there were fresh ones; it hadn't looked that bad when he'd gone to bed, though Treize had frowned at it then. Still, the professional made quicker work of it than Wufei usually did. "There we go."

"It looks..."

The doctor hummed. "Yes. Well. We had to do a bit of work to help with the infection. There was a pocket due to the infection. Be glad you slept through it."

Oh. Oh, that sounded disgusting.

Treize sat on the far edge of the bed, datapad in hand, eyeing him and his wound again. "Yes. A nurse will be coming next?"

"Mmm, yes. She'll be here to administer medication and to keep an eye on his progress. We wouldn't want to disappoint Lady Anne or the Queen, after all." The doctor smiled easily enough as he stood and stripped off the gloves, dropping them into the same biohazard bag he'd used for Wufei's bandages before putting on another pair and raising his eyebrows.

It felt like biohazard, looked like it, and he could think about that later, or never. He could perhaps let the potential trauma of it slide right through his fingers. And then the man changed his gloves, and set his eyes on the tube sticking out of Wufei's boxer leg.

Sighing, Wufei laid back and wriggled his boxers down and out of the way. The next few moments were less than pleasant, and the scrape of it implied that peeing would be unpleasant when he tried that again. "Ow."

That and the gloves and the bag all ended up in the biohazard bag. It was a relief when the man gestured he could tidy himself up, and pull the sheets back up. "Get some rest, and don't strain yourself. I'll have someone bring in a urinal for you to use to keep you off of that leg."

"Thank you," Wufei replied, and glanced over at Treize, who was still politely turned away from being able to see.

Still reading on his datapad, though his eyes tracked the doctor as he left, and he moved to lock the door behind him again. Then he stalked quietly back toward the bed, stopping to take his slacks off again before he got under the sheets with Wufei again. It was hard to guess what was going through his head, perhaps, other than Duo's bad news. Bounties on one's head, a world that had accidentally murdered most of their mech designers.

"Hi." It was ridiculous, greeting someone who hadn't even left the room. "Would you like a nap?" He'd just awakened, but Treize looked stressed around the eyes, and it couldn't hurt. Might even help.

Treize swallowed, and nodded, leaning into him even though he was sitting upright. The fabric of his t-shirt was soft. "It's ridiculous." That was better than a one word answer. "Can't go back there. I can't. Won't."

"It's not." How could it be? "Just hearing that was exhausting." Reaching up, he began to thread his fingers through Treize's hair comfortingly, and he slowly slumped down until he was comfortably resting against Wufei.

Whatever it was he took made him sleepy, and he was clearly fighting it even as he draped an arm over Wufei. "A panic room. Absurd."

"Maybe not so absurd since we already used it as one," Wufei pointed out, continuing to pet him easily. "Might as well be comfortably ensconced with video."

He turned his head slightly, as if redirecting the rub of fingers over his hair, in a way that reminded him of a cat correcting a petting. "Sorry I dragged you into this."

Wufei's laugh was more of a huff of breath than anything else. "I assure you that you didn't. Copper was after me before you came into the picture. Think of it more as being my companion in whatever this is."

He closed his eyes -- so much brighter without those contacts -- and seemed to relax a little more. "Just want to go back to routine." Routine was probably out the window for a while.

"We'll make a new routine for a while," Wufei promised him, starting to relax a little much. Probably they should squirm until they were lying down, but instead he just kept petting Treize until he fell asleep.

* * *

The next twenty-four hours or so passed not in a haze, but mutedly. He didn't like taking his anti-anxiety meds, because it felt a little like operating underwater, and the news had made him feel a deep real fear that he hadn't been able to shake. When it had worn off, he'd taken another dose and had slept more when Wufei had finally been allowed to sleep without interference that evening.

But by dinner the next day the bed had been turned into an office, and he was feeling less strained at the edges. There were files and bits of work he could address, and that felt normal. He messaged with Mariemaia a bit about the changes in security posture at Lady's home, and that made him pull his shit together a little more, made it easier to focus.

Lady had been right that responsibility helped him focus.

Wufei was frowning at his datapad, flipping through screens and working his way through numerous emails. Treize had already had that unpleasant business to take care of, so it was in no way surprising that Wufei's inbox was also full of more than seemed possible, except they both knew that it was in fact completely possible.

Life went on around panic and injury; the whole rest of the world kept moving, good and bad, and there were meetings to be attended and planning work to be achieved. There were new threats to start working.

"Wind mentioned he had a request in with you for me. That's..." He wished he had his wall of screens that made everything easier to work through more quickly. "Not the chain of command, as I understand it."

That sound was familiar, the vague hum of agreement. "What could possibly have made you even begin to think that anything Duo does would follow chain of command if he doesn't want to?"

He sighed, glancing up over at Wufei. "I continue to suffer under the delusion that the Preventers are actually a well run military style organization. It helps me sleep at night."

That earned him a chuff of laughter. "He likes running things past me first. And in general, it's worked for us, so there you go."

"I'll pretend that can be formalized as 'small internal staffing procedure'." He ran a hand back through his hair, still looking at the note. "So what was it?"

He could tell that Wufei seemed reluctant, or perhaps he was just trying to figure out how to say it. "He's, ah. Asking about how you might manage to unlock Epyon? The system, that is. It's..."

How to unlock Epyon. He looked up at Wufei, unable to keep himself from smiling. "Someone sat in the cockpit and got a nasty shock, then."

Both black brows rose sharply. "Literally or figuratively?" He seemed to consider it and Treize thought it might well be delightful amusement on his face.

"They didn't get what they wanted. Yes to both." He set his own datapad down on the mattress, and leaned back into the chair he had pulled up to the bed. Between them there was a side table he'd pulled over that was holding a collection of empty coffee cups and water glasses, and he took a moment to pick out his mug.

Wufei sighed. "There are so many reasons that I like you," he decided, and that edge of humor made Treize feel pleased with himself.

"Where is it now?" He wanted to know how secure it was, how... Why. The Why was important. "It only had three pilots. Myself, 01, and Zechs."

That twitch of mouth. Ah, yes. "Heero isn't best pleased with you right now. So it's very secure."

"So they have it in Sanc?" He fiddled with the coffee cup thoughtfully, watching Wufei's mouth. " _We_ have it?"

"Yes." The tilt of his head seemed to ask questions. "Yes, we have it. It was being kept here on Earth so that hopefully they could get to you with it sooner. But now we have it and you, and it will stay that way."

With the cockpit disabled, the system was a pain to move about, and would require a mech carrier and tow lines. Unless they had taken the cockpit out of the mech. He stood up to get more coffee. "I need to know they've caught the other ones who were loose in Sanc. And that we're sure we've flushed the moles."

That didn't get an immediate response, and when he looked at Wufei, he wondered at the expression on his face. "No. No, they aren't a hundred percent certain yet. Maybe ninety. Duo says we'll be here for the foreseeable." And they were both getting restless.

"Then for the foreseeable, Epyon will remain unusable," he said simply, adding a sugar cube. "I'll unlock it when it doesn't feel like a trap."

"All right." As if it could be just that easy, but Wufei made it seem as though it was. "But I think we should move our office into the other room. Perhaps ask for a desk to be brought in, or something."

"Intrudes on the bed?" Treize guessed, turning back around with his cup in hand. "I'll call. Your kitchen table would be perfect right now."

"Yes." Yes to all of that was the general connotation. "And when the doctor comes back, let's ask him precisely how much strain my leg can take."

That was much better than thinking about the inside of Epyon which had insisted he had nothing else to accomplish in life and no path forward in the world when he'd given it to Heero; which had lit up so brightly for him on his return before he'd locked it down and metaphorically gutted it. "I hate to seem that I'm being dragged around by my libido, but."

Wufei shrugged. "It's that or watch television." Then he smirked at him. "And I know which of those things I prefer by far."

"Oh, I should really make a joke about a TV show, but I can't even think of one off the top of my head." He sipped at his coffee, and cocked an eyebrow at Wufei. "All right let me go see if I can find a table so we can move."

Wufei's mouth twitched, his head dipping. "Excellent. And maybe we can..." He didn't say it, but Treize knew what he meant.

"Catch up on paperwork." He deadpanned it as he sipped at his coffee. "Absolutely." And then he stepped out into the entry room, heading to leave their familiar little suite.

The guards weren't surprised by him anymore, or his forays through the castle. Someone just quietly detached themselves and followed him along the way, which meant he'd have sufficient help when he wanted to move furniture.

He found a rather nice desk in one of the surrounding suites that would fit into theirs easily enough stylistically and by color. It only took a little while to get it safely moved into their sitting room, and he could see Wufei peering through the bedroom door, clearly curious. He smiled at Wufei, and thanked the guards for their help and time. Then it was just a matter of dragging a couple of chairs over, until he found the right height for the desk.

"I'd say we're well-suited to start working from someplace that isn't the bed, then." The look in his eyes made it worth all of the effort.

"I'll help move things around." Collect up paperwork and move forms, and relocate the table of cups. It was easy to leave his own datapad on the table, but Wufei's had access to more interesting things.

Things they hadn't watched yet.

Things they'd been waiting to watch because Treize was fairly certain he couldn't see it without wanting to do it again.

Do it better.

Make him beg.

It was a shame that they didn't have whatever toys Wufei might have hidden away in his apartment. Treize would pay good money to have them right now. Any of them. Or lube.

He had the things moved out of the bedroom in short order, and it was hard not to feel pleased as the bedroom finally looked like a bedroom again.

Albeit fancy.

"My turn, now," Wufei called, and he'd already managed to get himself seated on the edge of the bed. This was a routine they'd had worked out since the doctor had okayed showering, and he was sure that getting out of the bed was delightful for someone who'd been stuck there for longer than anyone wanted to be.

"I'll let you move yourself. I could carry you, but..." He suspected Wufei would laugh hard at that image.

That already got him a smirk. "Come support me, you ass." One hand was held out, waiting.

It was hard not to smile wildly in response to that, coming over to grasp at his fingers, sliding his other hand to steady Wufei at his side. "Talk sweetly to me again."

"Come support me, you ass." Wufei was looking up at him from beneath dark lashes, and Treize couldn't help leaning in to kiss him.

He mumbled, "That's what I like to hear," against Wufei's mouth, a knee against the edge of the mattress.

"Mhmmm." That was sort of agreement, and when they parted, Wufei let out a long, steady sigh. "On the one hand, we have conspiracies to suss out. On the other..."

"On the other hand, you're lovely, the bed is right there..." He kissed him again, slow and lingering, pushing him back onto the mattress.

"Mhm..." Wufei agreed before dropping his head back. "But I'm not fully cleared and you'll feel guilty. I won't feel guilty at all, but."

He kissed at Wufei's neck, mouth lingering a little. "I suppose it's back to spreadsheets, then."

Wufei sighed. "I don't want to go back to spreadsheets. I want..." Clearly he knew what he wanted. Treize did, too, but he wasn't wrong, and so Wufei's head dropped back onto the mattress and he let out a heavy sigh. "Ugh. Fine. Spreadsheets."

It was very easy. He somehow expected things to be harder, to struggle more, but the things that tripped him up were stupid and unexpected, this... Touching Wufei, kissing him, was easy. He had put him on a pedestal, and found him instead to be a very interesting person. Treize leaned back, and offered his hand. "You know more came in while I was looking for the desk."

"I know," Wufei agreed, and let himself be pulled up and assisted into the suite's parlor.

Once he was situated, Treize even brought him a cup of coffee and his datapad before settling back into a chair to deal with some of his own work. At least he didn't have to lie and explain why, didn't have to pretend not to be himself and Iron at the same time. It still seemed amazing and a little bizarre that Wufei had accepted it, hadn't... hadn't done something else, hadn't told him he was a liar and worse, then thrown him out on the street.

His feelings about that were very looking a gift horse in the mouth, to be honest. And he shouldn't be doing any of that at all. He still felt an urge to peek in the metaphorical mouth, but not enough to bring it up again. In a general sense, he'd managed not to have to deal with... A great deal of what he'd done. Treize wasn't sure what Wufei remembered of that one conversation before the fever had overwhelmed him, and he honestly hoped it wasn't much. They hadn't settled anything, and if agreeing to just ignore it was a plan, it was one Treize was behind.

If every day after this was them not talking about it, Wufei curled on the couch with his hair loose and his glasses on poking at his datapad with a frown, Treize could live with that. He could more than live with it. He could enjoy every second of it.

He rubbed fingers against his eyes, and watched that frown for a moment, and then messaged him, "Anything I can help with? The spreadsheets are, god, useless. I think the big lead Hassium found was an illegal speedway and betting ring."

And Wufei laughed, which... yeah. That felt so good. Everything about his life felt good now, and he wasn't going to question that. Not when it hadn't felt like this for as long as he could remember. "No. No, it's just the usual. Let me know when you're ready to wrap up, and... is the doctor coming today or do you think he's decided I'm not worth bothering with?"

He leaned back in his chair, and closed the messaging app. "Did he run out of IV meds for you yet? I can't remember if this morning was the last bag." One day he needed to sit down and stitch together the time periods in his head; before the fall of Sanc, after his brother's death, after Operation Pleiades, after the Eve War, after repatriation, after... what was this? Discovery?

He had no idea.

"This morning was the last bag." They were both glad of that, because antibiotics were tough on the body in multiple ways that were no fun at all. For anyone. And IV antibiotics were worse, or they always seemed like it. "So I'm feeling better."

Treize glanced at the time on his datapad. "He might leave us alone until the morning at this rate. How's your input to Lady looking?" Good enough to... call it quits, he supposed, and he could finish sending his snide note to Hassium, and then they could end it for the day.

"Wrapping it up," Wufei advised, and he pushed his glasses up further on his nose and then yawned. "Ugh. Sorry. I'm not tired, I promise." Just low-level feeling kind of crappy, and while he obviously wanted to get frisky, well.

"If you're tired, that's fine." He was content to loiter in bed with Wufei and just... have human contact, to feel him, because he wanted it, wanted so much more that he wouldn't say no to anything. "I can just read about Wind's crushed hopes for the other sources."

"I'm not," Wufei said again, and he laid down the datapad and smiled up at him. "And if he'd come by and given the okay, I'd have shown you, but..."

"Mmm, you give my guilt too much credit." Just the right amount, but he got up from the chair, stretching, and moved to help Wufei up from the sofa. "I can take things just to the edge of acceptable I think."

"Oh, can you now?" Yeah, he thought he could. Especially if he got that softness, that obedience that was such a turn on for him.

It was a challenge that an older part of him could answer, rising up easily and delightedly, sliding fingers gently along the side of Wufei's face, tucking a few strands of his hair behind his ear. "Yes. Let me prove it."

And Wufei bent for him, an automatic release of control that he gave over with no more than a soft breath. God, it was easy, it was good. It was perfect, and Treize couldn't find it in him to resist. It was still tentative, like wrapping his fist in gossamer, and tugging too hard, but he could meet gentle giving with gentle taking, starting with his mouth, with slow kisses before he used both hands to pull Wufei to his feet carefully.

"Going to tote me to bed like a romance hero?" Teasing was always nice. Laughter in bed was a good thing, and they hadn't been at this long enough for the full on variety, but this was a good start.

"Oh, you think I can't?" He had to be mindful of Wufei's leg, but he slid a hand down to cup under Wufei's left buttock, and flexed with purpose to do just that.

Wufei's hands wrapped around his shoulders. "I wouldn't want you to throw your back out. I don't look like it, but I weigh a lot."

He hefted him up -- he did seem heavier than he looked, all compact muscle -- but it wasn't a struggle, not with the bedroom not twelve feet away, and Wufei's body warm through the fabric of his pajamas. He'd learned the hard way that the best way to protect against injury under G forces had been to maintain as much functional muscle as possible, the kind that helped in a fight.

Or more recently, when running away. "Probably healthier than I was during the war."

Ah. After one squeak of surprise, Wufei was just looking at him with heat and appreciation. "Wow." Very much wow, and before they made it to the bed, Wufei's hands shifted, one at the back of his neck, the other cupping his jaw, and he leaned in and kissed him, mouth gentle and willing.

Something about Wufei's kisses curled deep into him, pulled a response out of him. He leaned, felt the shift in their shared center of gravity, and managed with concentration and a little strain not to break the kisses while he set Wufei back down on the bed. In turn, Wufei tugged at him, pulled him down with him, and they were settled precariously close to the edge, but that didn't seem to bother Wufei in the least. Nothing seemed to bother him once Treize was on him, blotting out the world around them with his presence.

He pushed Wufei back further, just so they could both sprawl better, but it was a comfort and a relief for the world to reduce down like that while he kissed him. It made things easy, made them feel right, and taking Wufei apart was definitely on his list. Taking him down until the world felt as right to him as it should, until all he could see was Treize.

He didn't need toys or augmentation for that; he just needed time and focus, and touch, skimming fingers along Wufei's rib cage, kissing his jaw. "Want to do so much..."

The way his head fell back, leaving his throat open, made Treize want to take a bite, and he did, gently, teeth scraping so that Wufei gasped, shuddering. "Oh. Oh please, yes, tell me. Tell me what you..."

He hummed against Wufei's skin, and then kissed the spot he'd bitten. "I want to take you apart, until you can't feel anything but this." He was careful not to press against the bullet crease, not to stress it, so he was mindful of where his knee was on that side.

"Oh," Wufei offered, and then shivered beneath his mouth again. "But... ohhhhh." Ah, he would have to remember that spot. It clearly worked some kind of magic, because when he sucked at it just a bit, Wufei gasped and pushed his hips up against Treize's. "Oh!"

"Shame that you're overdressed again." He teased it, touching Wufei's stomach to ruck his shirt up, sliding over warm skin.

Wufei laughed, so that spot was definitely ticklish. "Hm. You'd keep me naked and chained to the bed, then, would you?"

"No. No. I." He exhaled a little hard, sliding his hand around Wufei's side, fingers spread flat against his back for a moment as he half crouched over him. "Like undressing you. Surprise every time."

"I enjoy being undressed by you," Wufei sighed. "Although I have to say that I wouldn't mind being naked at your feet." That was beautifully confident, and Treize could see it. Could imagine it, and it made him want.

"Once we're home." Back behind their closed doors with security systems and a panic room. He got Wufei to squirm, shift, so Treize could pull Wufei's shirt up over his head, revealing a broad chest with dark nipples that were already stiffening into little peaks.

"Is that what you want?" Wufei asked him. "When we get home?" When his thigh was working properly again, yes.

"Once I am sure you are not going to end up back on antibiotics again, yes." He could not help the urge to rub the pad of his thumb over one nipple. "We probably need rules, and to discuss this."

The sound of that low whine made Treize smile, and he looked up to Wufei's lashes dropping, eyes heavy-lidded. "Rules?" He seemed honestly curious.

"What you like, what you don't. What I like, what I don't. I like the idea of making you soft and submissive, and relaxed for me; I don't like chains." That was probably as much as he could say all in one go on it, because he could repeat the gesture, and watch Wufei shiver just as much the second time, so he leaned down to kiss him.

It earned him a whimper beneath his mouth, Wufei's breath huffing against his lips. "Oh. Oh, we never, we just..." His hands slid down Treize's sides, careful around the ticklish spots. "We just fell into it, I think, me and Meiran and Mu Tsu. You'll have to show me how it's done."

"Surprisingly a great deal of talking involved." He leaned back enough to pull his t-shirt off; Wufei was making him feel less self-conscious about the scars. It was clear that he didn't give a damn about them, just appreciated the way he was built and liked to look at him. They were just a part of the package.

"Huh." That seemed to give him something to think about, even if his eyes were still roaming over Treize with appreciation. "I suppose you'll have to teach me about that." There was something flirtatious in the way he said it, as if he thought that Treize might find that fun and interesting.

"Yes." He leaned down again, kissing his way across Wufei's chest, hands exploring gently, roaming; occasionally he'd turn a hand, apply pressure, testing to see what Wufei liked and didn't.

The answer, for the most part, was everything. He hadn't disliked anything Treize had done to him, not once, and that was... strange and made things entirely too easy. "I'd like that."

So easy, so lovely, and perhaps their tastes were simply very close. He wrapped fingers loosely around Wufei's cock, kissing the dip on his stomach. The muscles fluttered beneath his mouth, and as he inched down, Treize realized that his hands were shifting up until they were placed on either side of his head, a habit he'd started to notice. They stayed where he'd put them the first time, just a tiny sort of obeying that made him smirk to himself.

"We need ropes." He said it softly, pinning Wufei's good hip to the bed with his hand, nuzzling down to the hair around Wufei's dick.

Wufei moaned, whether at the thought or at what Treize was doing. "Okay. Okay, that would be... that would be good."

He turned his head, kissed the top of Wufei's dick, and then on a whim pulled back to grasp both of Wufei's wrists in his hands, to see what the reaction was.

It was immediate. Wufei went limp, pushed open his thighs, eyes almost closed, mouth parted. "Oh." Oh, and he wondered how long it had taken to train that into him.

He wanted to thank whoever it was, but there was a likelihood he'd been involved in their death, even peripherally. Treize flexed his hand, applied pressure, and kissed that loose mouth again. He wanted to do something low risk, just kiss him everywhere, enjoy feeling Wufei, so he would simply bring his hands down and pin them firmly.

That seemed to be more than sufficient because Wufei was starting to rock his hips. He was sprawled, limp and open, and when he looked at Treize, it was with something like adoration. "Please." Please, and he rocked upward again, but his wrists didn't try to pull loose just whined low in his throat.

Please. He loved the sound of that, the feel of that against him, as he started to kiss his way back down, a little rougher now, just a little. A suggestion more of teeth, of suction, falling into it on his own side. He was hard and he needed to get Wufei's pants down from around his knees, and his own off, but it was hard to think about that when Wufei made all of those little sounds, hard when he just willingly gave in and submitted. God, he needed a plan. A plan and to be back in their own apartments so that he could fill him up and watch him squirm, listen to him sob and beg for release.

"Tell me what you want me to do," Wufei breathed. "Tell me what..."

He pressed his forehead against Wufei's stomach for a moment, trying to focus enough to give him a good answer. What did he want, what... He flexed his hands on Wufei's wrists. He wanted things he couldn't do just then. "I want you to be still for me."

Wufei's eyes closed and he gave that very low sound again, deep in his chest, before he tried to still the rock of his hips, tried to go as still as he could, and obviously bondage enforced by words alone was a turn on. Interesting. Very interesting, though he did want to use ropes. Eventually. he tipped his head, kissed at Wufei's stomach, bit gently at tight skin, tasted soap and salt and heat against his tongue. He could feel the shiver that worked through Wufei, the way that he tensed to keep himself from moving, to be still the way that Treize had asked. He was watching him, eyes dark, body unnaturally still in a way that made Treize smile. Yes, they definitely needed rope because then he could be held in position the way he wanted and he could _move_ , writhe and plead and beg, but this sufficed for what he needed, and he moved the grip of Wufei's wrists from two hands to one, so he could idle fingers along Wufei's flank, nuzzling down to the base of his cock. "When we're home, and you can kneel, you can show me your favorite blowjob."

"Ohhhh." Definitely oh, and that thought almost made him break form, a faint wiggle in his hip, his healing thigh. "I want to blow you," he murmured. "I want to choke on your cock while you hold me down."

That, that curled around something deep in his stomach, and was going to make it hard to get out of his pants. He kissed the side of Wufei's dick, just for a taste, lingering for a long moment. "That doesn't have to wait for home."

Wufei's eyes clenched shut, his mouth dropping open into a soundless o of breath. "Please. Please, can I now?"

He knelt up, a hand lingering against Wufei's hip and then his stomach, edging up closer. "Yes."

"May I move?" Something in him went viciously pleased, because Wufei hadn't even tugged at his wrists when he asked.

"Yes." Yes, a hundred times yes, and he let go of Wufei's wrists for the moment because they needed to get to a better position.

It wasn't a surprise when Wufei automatically rose and slipped out of bed, pulling him with him so that he was seated on the floor. It was a bit more of one when he tucked both wrists behind him, pressed to the small of his back. He looked up at him from beneath his lashes and then tilted his head, opened his mouth, tongue pressed against his bottom lip, and waited.

Waited for him to unzip his trousers. Wufei wasn't supposed to be on the floor, but he supposed he wasn't bending or flexing while he was there, and the bed was low enough to the ground that it didn't matter too much. The hands locked behind him were interesting, and he leaned back for a moment, waiting and watching, before he idly popped the top button, and slipped the zipper down, but nothing else. "Use your mouth."

Wufei leaned in, and pressed his face to Treize's belly, breathing in against his skin, cheek rubbing against the stiff line of his cock. He did it again, slow and careful, not gulping breaths, just easy breaths that made Treize want to pet him. After a moment, he managed to snag the waist band with his teeth and tug.

It wasn't easy or clean, but he pulled it back far enough that gravity and the sheer heat of watching Wufei so that made it easy for his cock to take the extra room it suddenly had by rising. He leaned more heavily on his right hand, and curled the fingers of his left hand against Wufei's scalp. "You're beautiful."

"I'm yours." Then Wufei's mouth was open again, that hot tongue licking against the underside, lapping up it, and then he was looking up at Treize, eyes pleading, mouth open, and fuuuck.

He lifted his hips a fraction, trying to shift his legs to ease his slacks and everything down, but it mostly was something he wanted to keep still for, for the moment, and he could see Wufei's wrists tucked against his own back. No hands, all mouth, and he leaned in, looking up at Treize when he did it -- sucked the head in between his lips and slurped at the head, tongue rubbing firmly against the bottom of his cock, and when his eyes closed it was because he was moaning with pleasure, loose-limbed except for his clasped wrists.

Treize slid his fingers back and didn't interfere, didn't move Wufei's head, just stroked through his soft hair, curling at the back of his head, a presence. "So good." He'd let it linger, let Wufei take the pace he wanted until he was perfectly relaxed into it, drooling.

Good, and Wufei slowly began to work his way down, tongue curling soft and warm, lips covering his teeth. There wasn't any hard suction, not at the moment; there was just the velvety texture of Wufei's mouth hot around him, and wet.

He rocked his hips a little at last, just a fraction out and then a fraction back, a suggestion of how he planned to fuck Wufei's throat later, to gag him. But not yet, because open and sweetly willing was so much better. Taking him in, just letting him half softness, and then Wufei added just a bit of suction, just enough to let him know what might be possible later, the tease. God, but his hair felt good, too, and that added to the experience, rubbing it back behind Wufei's ear, his thumb tracing the thin sensitive skin behind it. It earned him a groan, low in Wufei's chest, but he felt it against his dick.

The shame of it was that he couldn't remember the last time someone had done that for him. Literally didn't remember, except vaguely; perhaps it had been Zechs showing off a little, but this felt different. It was slow and heated, the lazy bob of Wufei's head, soft friction, while he tried to keep his own breaths calm and measured. "Perfect. Just... perfect."

Very much so, and those eyes were open and peering up at him again, dazed and needy and wanton. He went further down, sucked Treize in until he gagged a little, then pulled back up.

And then he did it again.

And again.

It made it hard to stay steady and calm, cool about it. He let his hand tense a little, pulling gently at Wufei, guiding him as he finally lifted his hips to press, sliding his dick up to where Wufei gagged, and then a little past that reflex. "Just breathe."

He did. Or he tried, but there was that gag again, clenching around the head of Treize's cock, and then Wufei tried again, gulping. There was saliva sliding down Treize and he was fairly certain that Wufei's face was damp with tears by the third try, but he was still looking at him, gaze fogged with lust.

"Shhh." He went for a fourth try, rocking in one more time, just because that lost hazy lustful look spoke of someone so deep under that he didn't quite want to break it yet. They really needed to establish boundaries and talk, but it all seemed to fall naturally into line, and Wufei whined again, and that time it seemed to work because he didn't gag. The whine cut off and it was just the spasm of his throat and Wufei desperately working to pull in air through his nose and not quite managing it well.

"Fuck." He rubbed his thumb gently at the side of Wufei's head, and pulled his hips back, holding Wufei still so he could breathe and not follow the motion. It earned him a whimper, and he did try to follow, but it was only a twitch of a motion and then he held, looking up at Treize and clearly waiting, paying close attention to Treize, watching him for indications. He exhaled, let the urgency ease back a little, fingers rubbing lightly against Wufei's scalp. "Let's work up to that."

Another whimper, but he could feel the way that the tension in Wufei let go, leaving him loose, relaxed, and then his throat did open and Wufei took him in again, deeper, slow. He made a little sound that was indescribable, and his lashes lowered. His face was red and his cheeks were wet, saliva clearly dripping down his chin, smeared all over the lower portion of his face.

It was gorgeous, and he wanted to move faster, wanted to move more, to fuck his throat, but slow seemed to be working, slow and easy motions as he gently guided Wufei in closer, steadying him when he did move his hips. Fuck, every time he swallowed, Treize wanted to push up, see him take it, watch him gag, but he knew that it was difficult. His size alone made things hard for most people, and this was no exception. If anything, it was a possibility that Wufei was even less prepared than most of the people Treize had fucked over the years. He'd always preferred to fuck people who were highly experienced, and while Wufei obviously knew what he was doing, Treize was fairly well aware that he wasn't quite up to taking his cock down his throat just yet.

He really wasn't in a headspace to be a responsible adult.

Treize eased him back, used both hands, and tried to pull him up standing, back onto the bed with him. "Needs more time." Practice, awareness, and Wufei was so deep down that he didn't want to transition it to more than kisses for a moment, give him time to surface a little if he wanted to.

He'd never seen anyone who went down so easy, dropping like a stone, and when he pulled Wufei up and into the bed for kissing, Wufei just came, doing as he was shown, hands clasped behind him again until Treize reached for them and pulled loose, held them clasped in his own hands while he kissed Wufei.

That was easier and probably better, and it felt good even if it didn't quite hit that edge of a nerve where he wanted to do _more._ They were guests, he should remember propriety -- not that he was good at it even if he remembered it, never had been -- so he just kept kissing Wufei, enjoying the teary, spit mess of his face.

Wufei sighed, and Treize stroked his hands over him, thumb rising to gently rub over the tear tracks on Wufei's cheeks. His eyes opened, dark and almost sleepy looking, and he hummed when Treize kissed him again.

The relaxed sleepy look was almost better than fucking, Wufei sprawled out over top of him, warm and relaxed while he palmed one ass cheek with his one hand and wiped gently at his face with another.

"Sorry." Even his voice sounded drugged, and his hair fell around his face, strands sticking to a cheek, some of it spilling onto Treize. "Got sloppy."

"Felt amazing." He kissed at Wufei's lips, just enjoying the pressure. "Didn't want to bruise your throat."

"Okay." And it didn't bother him when Treize palmed his neck, thumb wrapped around and tucked under his chin. He just let Treize hold him however he liked.

Let him idly touch velvet soft skin, kissing him, shifting their bodies until his dick was rubbing against Wufei's thigh. "You did a good job."

"Thank you, but you didn't finish." Which seemed to be a disappointment for him. When he was better, when they were home again, he'd put Wufei on his knees and take advantage of that.

"But it felt so good." He kissed him again, and shifted to roll over, to pin Wufei under him again, which was how they had started out. He liked how Wufei felt, and there was more than one way to deal with an erection.

"O-oh." Oh, and he clearly relaxed, beneath him, let Treize settle between his hips, just lean in and hold him where he was. Pin him down body to body, and pull Wufei's wrists up over his head, holding him there. It was the perfect position to grind down against Wufei, to rub cock against cock. It earned him more noises, Wufei pushing his hips up to meet Treize, eyes closed, mouth open. Fuck yes. Having Wufei pinned down and every part of him reachable was perfect. Having him moaning was perfect, and they could do everything else later, they could, would, with care, and, and he wasn't going to further fuck up a perfect thing. "Please..."

There was nothing better than willingness, than knowing that someone was utterly and completely enthusiastic. Wufei's legs came up, wrapped around his so that they could get better positioning, better friction, and even dry it was... it was so good. He wanted to make Wufei come, wanted to make him squirm and lose himself, a different kind of going under, but even if he didn't it felt so fucking good, the clutch of Wufei's legs around him, the rub of his dick and belly. Wufei was gasping under him, writhing up to meet him even though his hands were still held down, and yes, yes. Very much yes, and he could tell that Wufei was getting closer, so obviously blowing him had been very good for him.

It had been very good for them both. He flexed one hand tightly around Wufei's wrists, clutching, and trying to focus, but maybe, maybe less, maybe, he just needed to thrust harder, just feel the press of Wufei's body against his, hip and thigh and stomach, and his dick sliding and rubbing right against Wufei. And when Wufei came underneath him, it was with his mouth open, crying out so loudly that Treize was fairly certain that the guards in the corridor could hear him.

He loved that noise, the gasping cry Wufei gave, that trailed down to begging panting while Treize leaned in to kiss Wufei, swallowing his own groan as he lost the rhythm and just thrust his way to relief.

They were still kissing lazily several minutes later when Wufei sighed and looked up at him. He looked worn and like he'd appreciate a long bath that he still wasn't allowed until his high was healed. "Mmmm."

He shifted, knelt up, so he could lay down beside Wufei on the wide bed. "You're so good."

Wufei chuckled and rolled his head to the side. "I'm very out of practice. But you're amazing. You just make me want to, to fold for you."

"You folded so well. I just... want to do it right. Need to lay out boundaries." He kissed at the side of Wufei's neck, and took a moment to steady his breath before he got up to get Wufei water and a damp towel.

By the time he got back, Wufei was dozing slightly, blinking open his eyes when Treize wiped him up and sitting up for the water. "We didn't... Talk about things. We just took things we'd read and made it up as we went. But we'd known each other most of our lives, so I expect that made it very easy."

It was funny that he felt most fluent with Wufei, intimate, just sitting around working, because it was cloistered and safe and didn't trip him off most times except for that right there. "Yes. But I'm missing that subtlety."

When Treize sat again, Wufei curled into him, chin on his shoulder. "So. Let's talk about it, then."

He had gotten out of his pants and underwear because naked was nice. Naked on the bed with Wufei was nicer, even if he was completely spent. "Start with you. What turns you on?"

Wufei curled a leg over one of his, one arm holding him up, the other stroking fingers warmly along Treize's wrist. "Being held down. A little pain, but not a lot. I don't know how to explain where the line is. Being told what to do and obeying. I really like it when you tell me what to do, it feels like, like everything clicks in my head. I don't have to think. I don't have to be anything but what you tell me to be." His thumb gently rubbed the tendon. "It's nice."

The relief of handing over power, and control; funny, he could go there but it hadn't been the thing he wanted to relax when he'd had power and control. The fingers lingering to the inside of his wrist was nice, sliding over friction ridges, funny scars that didn't really bother him until they were all added up. Wufei's fingers had callus ridges. "It's very nice. You went down fast. I." Did he keep trying, pace through it, or just give up and grab his or Wufei's datapad? Probably the datapad. He had a feeling that they would need it sooner rather than later.

Pausing, Wufei looked at him. "Is that not how it usually works?" Something about the way his brows pulled in looked as though he were worrying about it.

"Hold on." He leaned in, kissed that furrowed brow, and untangled himself enough to get up. It was easy to backtrack, grabbing both datapads; Wufei's he set in reach for Wufei, and then he started to pull something up as he got back into the bed, coming around the other side. There was a dictionary definition of subspace that would start, and he offered it. "It's good. You trust me." 

Despite the stairwell.

"An emotional and physical state of being brought on by adrenaline and endorphins," Wufei read aloud. "Can create a sense of euphoria brought on by intense emotion often resulting in dizziness or incoherence." He frowned. "I don't think I'm incoherent. I just... feel like that's all there is in the moment?"

He slid an arm behind Wufei, nuzzling at his neck because he could. Because he was comfortable and there were pillows behind him. "You go very soft. And you delight in restraint."

"Feels good," Wufei told him. "When you hold me down. Feels like the world turns right. I don't have to worry about anything but you and what you want me to do."

"That's how it should work." When one's baggage wasn't tied up in it, and perhaps because their interests aligned. Discomfort, not sustained pain, little spikes of sensation, and telling Wufei what to do. "Ropes? Or just hands?"

"Both? Meiran had these, this.. it was some sort of fabric embellishment. Soft and silky but like rope." Wufei laughed. "Mu Tsu started keeping some in his robes. He was a master of hidden martial arts, and the things he kept in there were bizarre. Once he threw a toddler's training toilet at my head. Shaped like a swan. I still haven't figured out where he got it."

He laughed quietly, turning his hand slightly to press against Wufei's idle touch. "They sound like they were delightful." Soft fabric ropes he could do, that would be acceptable to both of them, no uncomfortable friction if they were made correctly.

"She was... creative." And he could tell that made him a little sad, a little affected. Maybe more than a little. "And we liked letting her be the one who made the decisions. He was... more in between than me. Most of the time."

"More in between?" He could guess, but it was easier, it was more of a learning experience to hear it in Wufei's words, to listen and absorb. See if it gave him more clues on what Wufei wanted.

"He liked it both ways. It was convenient." More than convenient, Treize could guess. "I don't know that Meiran's grandmother approved," he mused, "but I'm fairly certain she didn't know about the ropes and things."

And they had disrupted that; putting down a rebellion, their internal struggles with the Alliance conventional forces who wanted to use biological weapons before they'd let their special forces claim a victory.

Never mind the people between them on the battlefield. Treize closed his eyes, fingers rubbing gently at Wufei's side. "But you were happy."

"Yes." Wufei's chin was digging into his shoulder a bit, but it wasn't unreasonable, feeling clingy after what they had done. "Very. We knew war was coming. We knew there wouldn't be a lot of choices, so it didn't seem like a good time to deny ourselves anything."

The closeness, the clinging, felt good, reassured him that he had done a decent job, that he was still doing a good job. It spoke of open vulnerability. "Glad you had the chance. I managed to ruin a couple of good things along the way, so not everything was so wise as you in the face of war."

Wufei shrugged. "You had ten years more to fuck things up, yes? You're forty-four, yes?" His toes rubbed against Treize's shin. "So there's that. It was all inevitable. We were part of the war machine. So were you." He was ridiculously well adjusted. Perhaps Treize should ask questions about that at some point.

"Lost four years of good experience to various prisoner situations." He made a thoughtful noise, and then added, "Might be five. Not inclined to do the math on that. Alam el Halfa was better than Luxembourg." He nipped gently at the skin he'd been kissing at. "Packed a great deal of intense fucking up into five years."

He always reacted so well. "Mhm. That's all right. I'm good at not fucking up."

"Noticed that. How?" He had stories, stories about Lady and stories about Zechs, and stories, but nothing so fond and sweet as Wufei had.

Wufei shrugged. "We'd known one another since we were toddlers. It was easy, I suppose. We were already accustomed to Meiran telling us what to do."

"You made it translate." Outside, out to other things, to calmness after her death, to... a strange resolve, but he didn't say any of it, just waited to see.

"Yes." Wufei was petting him now, fingers in his hair. "She was very bossy. Around nine or so, I thought girls were gross, but Mu Tsu was Nǚjié zú. He was born ruled by women."

He liked the stroking of fingers in his hair, even if it felt too short still, made him feel strange; it needed more time to grow out, and for Lady not to come at him with clippers again. "So he helped you learn to like women?"

Laughter felt good against his skin. "Oh, I liked them already. He just pointed out that perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing, letting her be the one who bossed us around. After that... it just grew."

"Who held your hands down?" He wanted to know whose steps he was retracing, in a way, and who he had to thank for exquisite instincts.

"The first time apart or the first time together?" The question was at the edge of impishness.

"Either. Both." He pulled Wufei a fraction closer, enjoying the warm naked huddle of their bodies together. The room was temperature controlled enough to be comfortable.

"The first time, Meiran. It was surprising, I think. She was on top of me and it just clicked. The first time together? Mu Tsu. But we had talked about it, and he knew how it made me feel." It never bothered Treize to hear about other lovers someone had taken before him. In fact, it was interesting because it gave him insight into what made his person tick.

"They stumbled across a good thing. It's... visceral." Lovely, and if he wasn't fucked out he would've been thinking hard about Wufei's wrists and pinning him again.

"A great thing," Wufei agreed. "After that, we started to discuss what we liked a bit more seriously, I think. There was a lot of discussion about our fantasies. Mu Tsu liked feeling overpowered, or maybe overwhelmed was more to the point. Lots of sensation, liked to be fucked after he'd already come until he overloaded. Meiran liked to be eaten out until her legs shook, which is a lot easier when there are two of you trading off."

"Yes, yes it is." He didn't bother hiding his smirk, and he kept his hands idly roaming. "I want to keep you just on the edge of coming."

Treize felt that shudder. It was full body, and Wufei's thighs tightened. "How long?"

"We'll have to see. Half an hour?" He nudged his mouth against Wufei's neck, sucking slightly.

"Oh." Wufei's thighs squeezed together again, hips rocking slightly. "Oh, that would be nice. That would be..."

"For later." He was still comfortable, enjoying the low key horniness, and leaned over to flick through and over a couple of screens on Wufei's datapad. "First, kink list."

"Really?" Wufei glanced down and his mouth opened as he looked at it, cheeks flushing. "That is comprehensive. I don't know if I know all of the answers."

"Then that's one you haven't tried. What do you think it might be?" He could tell that skimming the list he was going to have a great deal of rather obvious no on his list. Collars, no. Cutting, no.

One finger pointed at the first thing on the list. "So... age play is, one assumes, precisely what it says it is?"

"Yes. That's no for me." He might as well be upfront on it. He didn't think it was secretly one of Wufei's if he had to ask.

Wufei nodded. "That's fine. I don't think it's for me." Although he expected there would be a lot of no on the list. "Perhaps paper and pencil would help," he suggested. "We can write down what's a yes and leave off the things that are a no."

It took him a moment to talk himself into standing up, but he did, unfurling from Wufei to go back into the other room in search of pen and paper. He ended up with a notepad from his own duffle and a couple of pens that had already been in the guest room they were staying. By the time he returned, Wufei had shifted so that he had one of the books from the bedside that Treize had been flipping through out of boredom in his lap, clearly prepared to take a sheet of paper and leave Treize with the tablet.

He accepted the paper and the pen, expression torn between seriousness and amusement. "Thank you."

He smiled back at the amusement, because yes, it was sort of funny. It was very funny. "See anything good?"

"One or two things. Should we write down the ones that are definitely a no or just the things that are definitely a yes?"

"The hard 'no', and the 'yes, please'." In case they had any that fell into a column each for both of them.

"Right." Then he bent to work, taking things as seriously as he tended to do when paperwork was involved. Quite possibly the call for paper was as much for his benefit as it was for Treize, which made him feel better for some reason.

It helped Wufei organize his thoughts, and Treize waited, watched Wufei's list grow and shift. Some of the things weren't a surprise (light bondage, almost everything involving oral sex, kneeling), but some things were (over the knee spanking, needle play, chosen clothing for, chosen food for).

None of it was... Anything that he needed to mark no. Maybe their tastes were just lucky, aligned; only the needle play really gave him pause, and only because he'd never done it before. It would take thought and research. And it was always possible that Wufei was only curious about it and it might end up being something that they didn't get right into. That would definitely require more conversation.

"So... now we talk about things?" More question than anything else, and Treize felt there might be a lot of those.

"Yes." He took the sheet, and glanced at it, before adding a few quick marks -- his list of No, the hard noes. Rape play, chains, collars, choking, anything in those lines, degradation, bloodletting.

Wufei's no list included all of them, and added electric play, interrogation, knife play, and anything involving bodily fluids that weren't saliva or semen. Which was definitely for the best. He could see how all of those would probably be triggering to someone who had been held captive. It wasn't good for him, either.

"This makes it simpler," Treize said when he was done reading it, leaning into Wufei.

Wufei raised a hand to his mouth, biting at the tip of his tongue. "So now we talk about it?"

"Have you done needles?" He asked it curiously. "The no list is. Good."

That was an immediate shake of the head. "No, it just seemed interesting. I was thinking acupuncture needles? They're very small and you hardly feel them so it wouldn't be threatening. Precisely. Possibly just a small pain, which I prefer to outright pain."

"Biting?" Small pain was good, at least the sort that crossed his mind. "Toys?"

"Definite yes. I like when you nip. It, something about it makes me..." He trailed off, looking away before looking back at him. "It makes me want."

"Which of these really make you want?" He enjoyed being that close to Wufei, reading practically over his shoulder; he smelled warm and familiar and still a little like sex.

Taking his pen, Wufei put stars beside the ones he liked most. "These ones. I know I like them, so they're easy."

Light bondage, kneeling, oral sex, spankings, choices. Making choices for him. He kissed him leaning into him to, across him, fingers against Wufei's hip. "I enjoy all of those." And more, but he could start there.

They'd start there, and build out on them to see how far they wanted to go. Something about it made him smile, made him lean in and catch Wufei's mouth in a kiss. "Good," Wufei told him afterward, and then brushed his lips against Treize's again. "Good."

It was something they could work on when they eventually got home.

* * *

It was good to be home.

Two weeks away from his apartment to stay in the palace left him with same grateful feeling that he had when he came back from a long mission, or even a rotation to another facility than headquarters. The doors and windows had been changed, and the trashed furniture had been cleaned up, but he was home again. He needed to rebuild the alter, and he would do so, but the candles were still all okay under the sink, and whoever had cleaned the place up had also washed and changed the sheets and the towels. Once assured that Wufei's space was secure, Treize left his duffle bag on Wufei's living room floor and stalked up the main staircase to inspect his own flat.

Silently. He'd forgotten how quiet Treize was when he wasn't cloistered closely in a place with just one person. Duo was prattling to fill the silence, guide and handing over keys, explaining things, showing Wufei the new security system to arm and disarm.

It was complicated. Thank god he had been a Gundam pilot because complicated was every day there. This was clearly not any standard alarm system, and Wufei was grateful for it.

"Thanks," he told Duo when he wrapped up. "I'll be in to work starting Monday, yeah?" That was the plan, in any case. He hadn't told Wufei anything about the current factions or how much they were worth on the open market. It was a fair guess that the reason he hadn't was because Treize probably wouldn't have taken it well, to say the least.

He could find out when he was back at work Monday. "Yeah. You wanna bring his Excellency in?" Duo pointed to the ceiling. "I mean he's not anonymous anymore, but Anne thinks he might feel up to unlocking Epyon. I dunno, she was gonna talk to him."

"For fuck's sake, don't call him that to his face. He doesn't like it." Wufei stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'll talk to him about it. There's a reason he locked it. Sorry about Heero, by the way."

"Nah, Heero needs to be reminded every once in a while that there are other people with different thinking in the world." That... that actually sounded like a thread of an interesting argument between Heero and Duo that he wasn't quite inclined to peel the layers back on yet. "Preventer Iron still works, then. It's... he's been weirdly okay on chat and email. You're doing a good job looking out for him."

Wufei ducked his head. "He needs looking after. Which is a funny thing to say considering I killed him once." Which sounded terrible, but was just true. He had killed him once, as strange as that might be. "Hopefully that won't happen again."

Duo patted at his shoulder. "Still gonna ask you to come out with me after gym night, you know."

"And I'll still go," Wufei promised him. "Just... there's a weird extra layer to things now. That's all."

"It's not like you were ever really looking when we went out, anyway." Duo's mouth tugged up at the edge. "Dunno, if we ever get him less panic-attacky, maybe we can drag him out."

One brow rose sharply. "Well, once ESUN manages to revive him, he'll probably panic less about someone figuring out who he is. Or Anne showing up with clippers to make his hair less recognizable."

Duo had a shifty expression on his face. "So... that's a thing Dorothy slipped to the media streams Thursday. Went with a pretty realistic version, all things told."

Ah, fuck. They would one hundred percent be staying in for the foreseeable future once Treize figured out that bit. "Yeah, so I doubt he'll be going out anytime soon and I make absolutely no bets as to how paranoid he'll be about me going out, either."

"Haven't heard anyone baying for his blood. Mostly retrospectives and shit they ran with his obit." Which Wufei had studiously avoided at the time, until the interest had died off in about two weeks when no one had turned up a body to bury at any kind of state funeral. Empty caskets were symbolic, and there had been talk of it really representing all the missing who's been decimated in space. "Which kicked off some Mariemaia army rehash, so you know." He rocked back on his heels and exhaled. "Yeah. Not making my case, huh?"

"No, not really." Reaching out, he laid a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Thanks. I appreciate it. All of it. I know things probably seem pretty strange, all things considered."

"All things considered," Duo replied, bland.

"But I really do appreciate it. Everything."

"I'll remind you the next time you're cussing my name. C'mon, let's see if Iron's okay upstairs." Unless he came through the panic room, but Wufei somehow didn't imagine that becoming a regular route. Treize had said they connected through a closet.

He still had so many questions.

The stairs were easy to take, his thigh only straining a little. Thank god, because he hated the elevator. The door was open when they got there, so obviously Treize had been expecting them to come up. That or he was feeling suicidal, but Wufei liked to think it was the former. He hoped most of those suicidal urges were gone.

The apartment was the entirety of the fifth floor, wrapping around the elevator space to separate out the common area and the private spaces at Wufei's best guess; and the ceilings were weird, maybe a foot lower than his, exposed wood and metal beams crisscrossing it, weird sections where the HVAC systems connected, covered by drywall. The floor was wood, covered in throw rugs. There was a single chair placed with a side table beside it, facing the windows; there was the damn treadmill Wufei had cussed and made up stories about. A sofa, a television, coffee table...

It was all very normal except for the massive wall of screens that Treize was sitting at, checking his logins, apparently. There were three keyboards, and a flight control system of some kind. He looked up from it with a pleased look. "Lady had everything reinstalled."

"Wow." That was quite impressive. No wonder he could see everything that had gone on while they were out. "It's nice."

"No shit, it's nice," Duo said. "Why don't we get such great stuff?"

"Because you tend to do strange and unusual things to your devices," Wufei replied. "And I suspect she's afraid of what you'd do if she gave you something this nice."

"You can have a rig like this when you work overwatch at any hour needed." He seemed immensely pleased, and flipped a few familiar seeming switches to set everything over to standby. "How is your apartment?"

"Back to its normal standards. Everything's been replaced that got trashed." With nicer versions, no less, so that was truly beautiful. "There's just the panic room to see now."

"Oh, yeah, hey. Lemme do that." Duo waved a hand, heading for the closet. It was a weird kind of install where it looked like it was blocked out for HVAC or something, and the door didn't seem like it was trying to hide anything. Hell, once it was open everything looked like nothing more than straight drywall, which was weird enough.

He had sat there below it in the pitch dark with Treize shivering tightly with fear, so it was strange to see it in the daylight, vaguely occluded by winter coats. Treize gestured for Wufei to follow first, and Duo hit a light switch inside the door. "Tada."

Yep. Still looked like drywall, right up until Treize reached out and touched a weird little hidden latch so that it swung open silently. "How did you even find that?"

"Anxiety and free time." Roaming the apartment, and he vaguely remembered that when the person on the fifth floor had first moved in, that they seemed restless.

"Huh." 

Duo pushed lightly at him. "C'mon, c'mon, let's go on in there already, see what we've done."

Wufei snorted. "It's you, now I'm a little afraid, to be honest."

"I'm interested." And the closet was small, so he started down the stairwell just because there wasn't anywhere else to go. It was a tight little stairwell, and he wondered how it was somehow a panic room as well, now, at least until he made it to the landing for his own apartment.

Things were spread out there, wide, almost as if there must have been a servants station of some sort, a little bit of butler's pantry and linen closet and who knew what else. One corner held video surveillance equipment and a desk, and another held something like a Murphy bed. "Is the surveillance active or is it only activated when we come in and start it up?"

"So, there's two layers of surveillance. Front doors, a camera there, and then once this is activated, full cameras. It's been soundproofed, and the doors you'll find can be secured from the inside -- drop bars, the whole nine yards. There's a tap, and a box of MREs. If you're stuck for a bit and feel peckish." 

"If we're stuck in here that long, we have other problems." But it was interesting, and Treize was starting back up the stairs to no doubt inspect the door on the other side.

"Soundproof, huh?" Well. That did lead to interesting possibilities, Wufei supposed. If they felt like getting loud, anyway.

"You know, so no one can hear you calling the cops," Duo deadpanned, half watching Treize lingering at the top of the stairs, inspecting the switches and reinforcements.

"Mmm, yes, just so." Just so, and Wufei poked at the back of his bookcase, finding the trigger that pulled it open. "Huh." Right. He definitely understood the insatiable curiosity something like that would cause. So it had been creepy, but... Wufei had to admit that he wasn't sure if he would have been able to resist that temptation in the least.

Adding in the temptation to the odd sort of fascination he had felt toward Treize, and assuming it was completely reciprocal... Yes, he wasn't sure he would've been able to resist exploring the upper floor if things had been reversed somehow. "Nancy Drew," Duo agreed. "So. Any questions before I leave you two alone?"

He never thought he'd say something like this. "How's the soundproofing on the rest of the place?"

"It's been reinforced when we went through and did the windows and shit. Makes the insulation better," Duo shrugged. "So not bad, not really."

"You're pretty all right, you know?" Wufei shoved his hands into his pockets. "I guess we'll keep you."

"I'll see you at work Monday." Duo patted him on the shoulder. "Hey! Iron, I'm going." That got Treize at least coming back down the stairs, a hand lingering on the handrail. 

"Thanks."

"No problem. At least try and make sure he can sit by the time he comes in." Duo was grinning as he slipped out through Wufei's bookcase, his hair a flit of motion, that little shit.

"I hate you," Wufei called, and the only answer was Duo's laughter and the shutting of his front door.

Treize was smiling slightly, watching Wufei, still sort of... hanging back. Like he might blend into the staircase if it were possible. "That depends if you want to."

Wufei turned, shoulder blade pressing against the jamb of what had once been a door and was now a bookcase. "If it's you? I definitely want to." That answer seemed ridiculously simple, but it was the truth. He wanted to. He wanted to... everything.

"Have to check occasionally." The smile touched the edges of his eyes, and he gestured upstairs. "Your place or mine?"

Oh, that was a good question. "Depends. You have toys up there? Because there's a locked box under my bed." Locked because sometimes Duo came over and that guy had never seen anything private that he wanted to allow to remain that way.

"Just lube." There was a bit of a gleam in Treize's eyes as he got closer to Wufei. "So yours has more interesting things in it. And you."

"Then come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly." He turned, glanced over his shoulder, eyes raking along Treize, and he strolled toward the bedroom, feeling loose limbed and somehow powerful. Alluring, maybe.

Certainly self assured enough to know that Treize was going to follow him without hesitation, stepping out of their safe room, closing the door behind him quietly, with practiced care. "It's a relief to be back here."

"Yes." Very much so, mostly because there were no guards to hear anything they shouldn't. They were all very professional, of course, not a single smirk or side eyed leer, but he knew that they knew, and that was enough, honestly.

It wasn't privacy, and he had wanted privacy so very badly. He didn't have to guess that Treize felt the same way, though his hackles were up a little as he crossed into the bedroom again, looking around as if he was checking that everything seemed the way it had been when they'd left.

Everything was perfectly in place. The bedroom looked exactly the way it had when he'd left it, and he hoped to god that the locked box was still locked and still where it should be. The very first thing he did was to kneel down and reach under the bed, and there it was. Just where it should be, perfectly in place. It had rested there so long that there was a faint indent in the rug beneath the bed.

If it had been moved from the indent, they had at least done him the kindness to put it exactly back into the indent. It almost startled him when Treize sat on the edge of the bed, watching him approvingly as he pulled it out. "Show me your favorite."

"My favorite, or the one that I wanted to be my favorite and couldn't quite manage?" Wufei looked up at him, mouth curling at the thought.

"The one that you'll do better on with help." He couldn't quite help the smile on his mouth as he said that, Wufei could tell; it was a little guilty and too deeply pleased at the same time.

He spun the dial and entered the combination, fingers smooth and careful, and it clicked open easily.

There was a folded sheet of paper on top of his things.

Fuck.

_'Sorry, man, we had to check everything for bombs and shit. Nice collection!'_

Well. He was possibly going to die of embarrassment but aside from that, Wufei supposed he'd live. Or something like that.

"Which one?" Treize didn't seem to care about the paper, just looked down at the toys, and then Wufei, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"This one." It was thick and long, and he just hadn't managed to get the angle right. The pink silicon felt like actual skin, veins and all, and he'd kind of had an immediate love for it when he'd seen it. He'd known it would be difficult; it was bigger than anything he'd owned before. He hadn't been able to resist buying it, though.

He hadn't ever been really able to make it work, even using toys before it. Treize's expression was sly, as he held a hand out to take it from him, and Wufei could feel the wobble of his lower lip, something in him rising up and wanting him to give in, give over, fall under.

Kneeling there, he held it up, an offering, and moistened his lips with his tongue before he let his head drop and his eyes close.

Treize took it, and he felt the hand lift the toy up, and then there was a soft touch of fingers cupping his jaw, so gentle as he leaned in to tilt his head up, and kiss him.

Wufei's body rose so that he could lean up into it, and he loved it when Treize kissed him. Time stretched, turning soft and taffy sweet, and it felt as though he could kiss him forever.

He enjoyed the kissing, and the moment when kissing turned to something deeper and more wanting, when fingers slid down the back of his neck and rested against this back, a slight pressure before he leaned back. "Undress."

There was no question of that being an order, and Wufei let out a pant of breath before scrambling to obey, reaching behind him and pulling his shirt over his head one-handed before fumbling at the closure of his trousers.

Treize leaned back, just for a second, setting the toy aside, and then his hand was on Wufei's side, idling against it as if he was soothing him. Or perhaps he just enjoyed the contact. "Lovely. But slower. We have all night."

And that was enough to make him relax, make him stop moving impatiently. The shirt was already off, but he could go slower with his trousers, flicking open the fly and pushing at it, slipping them down his hips and further onto his thighs, looking up at Treize to see what he wanted him to do.

He was rapt. He watched every motion, and gave a faint inclination of his head, a nod to carry on, so he did, kneeling up to get out of them, and finding himself kissing Treize again, a distraction from the undressing. When he broke away, he said, "And lube and a condom."

Those were in the drawer, easy enough to find, Wufei thought, and he reached for it, opening it up and pulling out the requested items. "Tell me." What to do, how he wanted him, what else he might need.

He was quiet for a moment, taking the lube and the condom, a hand on Wufei's side again, intimate and close. "A necktie. And then kneel over my lap."

Oh.

 _Oh,_ , and Wufei felt the rush of blood to his face and his cock, his fingers trembling as he rose and walked to the closet. It took a moment for him to grasp one of his work ties, but he managed it. Got it wrapped around his fingers, and Treize was waiting there, waiting comfortably seated on the bed. Wufei wasn't sure what he meant, precisely -- kneel with his thighs over Treize's or kneel bent over them -- so he decided to take the one he'd like best and knelt perpendicular to him, draping himself over Treize's lap, tugging loose the elastic pulling his hair back as he went so that he could toss it on the nightstand.

Once he was sprawled, he felt Treize take the necktie from him, gently grasping his wrists and bringing them both to rest behind his back. He even checked that Wufei's shoulders had rotated correctly, smoothing a hand over the skin and tracing down both upper arms with one hand before he started to loop the necktie carefully around each wrist, and then together. He could feel Treize's erection, trapped in his pants, and the warmth of his legs.

Everything felt amazing. Felt so good to him, and he went loose, rolling his head so that he could see Treize and watch him. If Treize turned him away, well, he would obey, and that would feel good, too.

Instead there were fingers stroking through his hair, rubbing at the back of his scalp, and then the man shifted to reach for the lube, popping the cap open on the tube. "Good. Just relax for me."

So he made the effort. Sighed and closed his eyes and let go, trying to make himself nothing more than completely lax and easy. He jumped a little when Treize's fingers slid down, hit a ticklish spot, but then he let go again, sighing.

The fingers lingered low, past the small of his back, just at the edge of his crack, rubbing at the muscles there, the suggestion of his tailbone, and then back further. There was a pause, and then he felt the cool slick of one finger tracing his asshole, while Treize's other hand settled higher on his back. "Can't wait to see your ass stretched out for me."

What could he do but whine, drawing in a deep breath, tensing up momentarily before he relaxed again. Oh, the slick rub of finger pad was so much better when it wasn't his own, and the hand so easy on his upper back was holding him in place, which was infinitely better than him trying to do any of this on his own.

He liked the slickness of the necktie around his wrists, holding him still and firm, when that teasing finger started to slide into his asshole. Just a little bit, a tease around the rim. "Could do this forever."

"Okay." Did he sound drunk? He certainly felt more than a little drunk, and when Treize just kept doing it, he was a bit surprised when a moan spilled out of him. It felt good, slow and teasing, and he wanted more, he wanted to be flat against the mattress getting reamed with it except that was perfect, the teasing slide of one fingertip that somehow turned into two fingertips plying slick at the edge of his asshole.

A rock of his hips found Treize's elbow resting against his uninjured thigh, and Wufei sighed, relaxed again. He loved this, and even if he was getting very turned on, part of the attraction was absolutely the part where he was doing what he was told.

And the way that Treize's fingers slipped into him, two at once, slick and sudden, starting up a slow pistoning in and out. He definitely enjoyed that, too, as well as the way his mind was starting to go fuzzy blank. The push of it made him wanton, the being still somehow made it even better, and he dropped his head to the mattress, neck going loose. He could feel himself squeezing around the touch, and he so desperately _wanted_ just then, and knew it would only increase the more Treize touched him.

And he couldn't touch back. Couldn't move unless Treize wanted him to, told him to, and he tried for a moment, felt himself pinned down and that was such a relief, as good as the steady slip and press, the way he twisted his fingers inside of Wufei searchingly.

Oh, when he found it, the world lit up around him, sparks of orange and white and yellow behind his eyelids. Wufei didn't bother being quiet, just cried out, shoulders hunching in momentarily before he relaxed again, panting. Then Treize did it again, and his mouth opened so wide on his gasp that his jaw ached.

He eased those two fingers out, and added a third, taking his time circling and slicking Wufei's asshole again. "Next time you buy a toy this big, it's going to vibrate." He hadn't told Treize any of the bad news, but eventually, when he got the man out of the house, they were going to have to go to the sex shop out by the dockyards.

Just thinking about it made him try to rock again despite the fact that he didn't want to disappoint, and then he caught himself, went loose-limbed, at least until those fingers found that spot again. Then he tensed, whimpered, and god, his cock was so hard. So hard, and they'd hardly done anything. Treize had kissed him and tied him and he was fingering him so well that Wufei wasn't sure he'd manage to get hold of himself at all.

He felt Treize shift his hips slightly, the hand that was pressing his shoulders lifting for a moment to slap his left asscheek, in a firm blow that startled him.

"Fuck!" Fuck, because that was nearly enough to set him off right there and they hadn't even gotten far at all. Wufei shifted, trying to push his legs apart a little, because he didn't want to come. Not now, not so soon, and he'd gone limp again, panting, trembling.

Treize gave a pleased hum, easing those three fingers back, while rubbing at the reddened spot he'd just raised on Wufei's skin. For a moment it distracted him from where the fingers, the hand associated with it was, and then he felt the slick nudge of the toy against his ass, spreading his cheeks. He tensed, just for a moment, remembering the effort he'd put into trying it, and then he went loose again, face buried against the duvet, fingers clenching and loosening at the small of his bag. It felt big, it _was_ big, and the idea of it was making it more difficult than the actuality of it. He was fairly certain Treize was in fact bigger.

“Breathe." Treize shifted, and slid a hand between their bodies to stroke Wufei's dick, touch slick with lube in a way that made him briefly suspect there was lube on everything. And then he tightened his fingers.

When he gasped in, he felt it, pushing, and he let it back out again in a sob, hips undecided as to what to do. Treize had him, he had him everywhere, and the ache of it, the sting, the _give_ , it all coalesced into a brilliant place in his head where the world lit up and he tensed, relaxed, did it again, and it was inside.

It was inside him, and he was stretched tight around it, felt the little rocking motions trying to loosen him, get it further into him, while Treize stroked firmly at his dick again, then stopped and squeezed, kept him right on the edge. "So good for me. Just a little more..."

His face was wet. His face was wet, and his mouth was letting out the most ridiculous sounds, he couldn't. He didn't know what they were. All he knew was that he was there, strung on the edge of something, somewhere Treize had put him. He was where Treize wanted him, and that was perfect. That was everything he needed, and Treize kept on, kept on. 

And Wufei took it.

He took it all, until he felt balls pressed against his ass, until he felt the wide flange wedged between his cheeks, and then he felt it ease back, slow, and in again, the hand around his dick squeezing tight to keep him held on edge, toying with him, dragging it out and in again, reaming him like a lemon.

He knew he was crying. He knew. It wasn't because it hurt; the stretch felt immense, although not as much as when it was Treize. He was just crying because it seemed like he needed to. Or maybe he wasn't sure why. It was mostly just shivering on the edge, breathing heavily, and Treize was petting him. Petting him and fucking him all at once, and the world around him was... it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but this.

It was all sensation, and he almost didn't miss when hands moved to pet his chest, moving him, coaxing him, and he was leaning against Treize, chest to chest and up on his knees somehow, and the thick pull of toy came out of him, all the way out, only for a slow slick push stretching him out again while Treize held him still with a grip like iron.

His knees were on the mattress now, and he sank down all the way, Treize holding him, gentling him, because Wufei didn't have the strength to do anything other than be still the way he was wanted and take what he was given. He was more full than he had been earlier, and it felt so good. So good, and the stretch was easy, it was so good, and he was saying it, he thought. Saying it again and again and again, sobbing, and Treize had him.

Treize had him.

He lost himself to it, riding the sensation, the pressure of hands, the feeling of being filled, the rub and friction of skin on skin, and everything felt out of control, heard Treize's voice low and rough, telling him something, asking him, goading.

With some effort, he managed to pull himself up a bit, out of the world he'd fallen into, to try and make out what he was being told. To try and figure it out, and he came up just enough to hear what Treize was telling him.

_Come._

Come, and he did, and maybe he screamed or maybe he didn't. He didn't know, he didn't _know_ , it was lightning and joy and maybe he laughed or maybe he was still crying.

He didn't know.

He was empty, and he was lying atop Treize, his hands loose at his sides, Treize's sides, and broad hands were spread stretched out on his back, stroking and rubbing lazily. "Want to do this forever."

Time had gone strange on him, and he sighed, fingers rising to press against Treize's shoulders. He felt clean, although he was thirsty, and the inside of his head was still all strange, melty and soft. His body felt the same, everywhere, loose and easy.

The press on shoulders got him a nuzzling kiss against the edge of his jaw, and he felt Treize move a leg, rubbing against Wufei's uninjured leg. "You're lovely."

"Mhm." It was the best he could do, Wufei thought, closing his eyes and sighing, accepting the kiss, accepting everything that was given to him. He hadn't felt this way in a very long time, if at all, and it might take some time to slot everything back into place.

"I've fallen in love with you." The tone was light, lingering, and the hands on his back didn't stop for a long time, until he shifted him to the side and then there was water against his lips, and he was being sat up.

Wufei blinked, slow, sleepy, and then reached up with both of his hands, fingertips pressed lightly to Treize's face, stroking over his chin and up to his jaw. "Yes," he whispered, tilted his face to the side, kissed him. "Yes. Yes. Yes."

It all felt so good. The water, the words, the touch as he was kissed and tucked into bed, the way Treize turned his head and kissed his fingertips, a thumb against the inside of his wrist pressed delicately, counterpoint to earlier. He was warm and comfortable and not thirsty.

When he drifted into sleep, it was in Treize's arms, in the comfort of his own home, safe and secure and not worried about anything at all.

* * *

Going into the headquarters was odd, and it had taken work for him to psych himself up for it. Getting dressed for the office helped; putting on a tie felt rather ironic, and he'd pulled a sweater on before grabbing his winter coat, hat and scarf before joining Wufei on the stairs.

Eventually he'd work out why Wufei seemed reluctant to come into his apartment on the fifth floor.

The walk into the office was chilly, their steps quick. Wufei's thigh looked immensely better, and they'd spent most of Sunday curled on the couch in his apartment. He'd finger fed Wufei and spent most of the day petting him. There had been a lovely nap, and they'd spent the afternoon talking about nothing that actually mattered. He had gotten halfway through a book on upholstery and materiel science. If weekends were going to look like that from now on, he voted for having more of them.

It had been good just to unwind. Just to exist and reset, and was that perhaps how most people experienced weekends? 

It was something worth doing if that was the case. 

After the last few weeks, it was good to get out, even if it was cold and threatening vaguely to snow. It was good to see the streets again, and feel a little less hunted. It helped that his scarf was wrapped close and no one was unlikely to recognize him, especially not with his hat on and hiding the color of his hair.

Summer was a whole different challenge, and one he wasn't going to concern himself with until it got there. He had nearly forgotten his badge, but brandished it at the gate as Wufei made brisk small talk with the guard.

The guard looked at him too hard. Something about it made him nervous, made his fingers twitch in response to it. Just what, he wasn't sure, but he definitely didn't like it. 

"See you later, Torvald. Tell your daughter happy birthday for me." Wufei waved a hand and marched toward the elevators with Treize behind him.

God he hated elevators.

He got in, and closed his eyes, heard Wufei press the buttons, and tried to blank his mind until he felt it moving. If there was a next time, he was going to take the stairs.

"If she catches me climbing the stairs, we'll both catch hell," Wufei murmured. "Also, I've been present while someone worked on this one so I have a bit more faith in it."

"Taking your word on it." He squared his shoulders, eyes still closed. Wufei was close, and he didn't want to touch him because they were at work, but the closeness was enough. It was fine, only then he felt Wufei's fingers brush against his as he stepped closer, knuckles stroking the back of Treize's hand.

"As well you should," he murmured, and the door opened at the sixth floor.

He opened his eyes, and let Wufei step out first, appreciating that reassuring contact as he stepped out onto the floor. He'd honestly never been there since it had become Preventer HQ, so there was a bit of curiosity, remembering the old floor layout, and that Lady had taken up residence in what had been then Colonel Chillias's short term office.

"The meeting room at the end, yes?" Wufei asked, because they all had to be personally present thanks to Copper's fucking around with their system.

They were still ferreting out what was and wasn't safe and secure, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be there, but. "Yes." He guessed. Treize took his hat off, shrugged out of his coat as they walked, stuffed everything down a sleeve. Wufei was stripping off his own coat and hat, his hair loose under it and ruffling out in staticky little strands that would annoy the hell out of him within five minutes, Treize was sure.

"Oh. Hello, Iron." That was Lady, speaking from behind him. "Can I take a moment of your time before we get to the meeting?"

"Of course." He managed a smile, and suppressed the urge to smooth Wufei's hair for him before he turned to follow Lady back toward what had been the Colonel's office.

The door opened and Lady moved to seat herself, leaning back and watching Treize as he chose one of the seats opposite her. "So, I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but the story broke on Thursday that you're alive."

He inhaled, focused on her face as he leaned back in the chair. "No. I didn't know." It did explain why the gate guard had been giving him the oddest look, but no one else had that morning. He and Wufei had just been two people walking to work amongst other people going about their own business.

"I have all of your paperwork. Dorothy came through faster than any of us had expected she might." Her eyes were so clear, so happy for him. "Are you okay with this? I know it's a little late to ask..."

"No, it's." He covered his mouth with his hand for a moment, thinking, struggling with what to say next. "What was said?" Was there still a price on his head?

"That you'd been a prisoner of war," she murmured. "And that you were considered to be a person who would fall under the pardons and clemency that were granted following the Eve Wars. The overall reception has been quite positive, actually."

That was a baseline to work from, and he turned it over in his head. New Port City was still a place he wanted to call home, and the citizens were a little more... to themselves. Standoffish and polite, so perhaps they would leave him alone. "I can't... behave the way they expect."

Lady leaned forward. Her eyes were warm and kind, happy. "You don't have to. Your privacy has been requested, and we thought now was the best time to come forward since the security at the apartment has been upgraded so thoroughly."

The happiness was odd and not unwelcome, though he felt he was entering late into a movie. "Okay." Okay, he could probably manage. It wouldn't be worse than getting accidentally spotted when he was out and playing it off. He could play it off a different way. "Okay. Thank you."

"No more strange haircuts in the early morning," Lady offered, and that was indeed true. Quite pleasing, in fact. "I won't change any of the requirements for coming in to work. You're well-settled and I think we've got everything properly in place there. But if you should happen to want to come in, I won't object."

"I probably won't." He smiled a little more genuinely, trying to work out how he was reacting to it. It was startling, because he'd been hiding for so long, and doing a shit job of it the last few weeks. And now he existed again. "Do you think Mari could come over this week?"

That clearly pleased Lady to no end. "Please. She's been unbearable for the last weeks, wanting to see you when you were at the palace. It wasn't practicable considering the situation. I'm sure she'll be delighted."

"Has she met Preventer Mercury since..." Since the strangeness that he still wasn't good at making sense of. "Or should I keep them separate?"

She shook her head. "No, no. She's seen him again. More than once, actually, so I expect that she'll be fine.

"Oh good." He relaxed a little. That wouldn't be as hard or as weird as he expected, then. Because he wasn't good at navigating any of it. "I missed seeing her. Rather glad to hear she's been unbearable."

Lady laughed. "She enjoys seeing you, too. Now." She paused and tilted her head to the side of his head. "Ready for our meeting?"

No. Not at all. "Why do you want Epyon unlocked?" He came at things sideways sometime, in his own time, but she had to know he was thinking it.

"It's powerful. We hope we won't need that power, and it's extremely well guarded but... it's the Epyon system itself that we're more interested in using. I think it will be helpful considering our current situation." She leaned back in her chair. "I thought long and hard about it before asking, I assure you."

"You want to model decisions." He watched her body language, protective of either herself or the organization. Possibly both. "Who will use it."

"Preventer Carbon. The system itself is detached from the suit, so hopefully we'll manage to make better use of it with fewer effects."

"Dorothy used it detached. She still went mad. Attacked Mr. Winner. Preventer Carbon is at war with destiny itself." He was leaning toward no if 01 were to be the case, and he didn't know how she would respond.

"Would you like to make another suggestion? I am absolutely open to any you might have with one given exception." She looked directly at him. "You. I know you too well, and you have a habit of being willing to sacrifice yourself far too often."

"ZERO system did not drive Wufei insane." And while Wufei was... someone he felt proprietary about, protective of, if it were something that needed to be done for the world... He knew there was no stopping Wufei.

Lady nodded her head, slow, thoughtful. "He has a certain amount of sheer stubbornness about him. I'll consider it."

"I'll unlock it. I'll need a toolbox, pliers, and wire." It was the sort of thing that would have made Preventer Wind proud and pleased. "After the meeting."

"After the meeting," she agreed, and there was something about the way she smiled that was altogether too pleased. She'd probably had this as a plan from the start. "Shall we?"

He stood up, nodded once to her, and then opened the door for her politely. Maybe everything was going to be all right; he half didn't want to believe it, felt unsettled as he followed her out of her office and closed the door behind himself, heading for the meeting room.

Treize wasn't surprised to find that most of the people at the meeting were familiar; Anne had obviously pulled everyone in from all corners of the globe and out of it, and that at least was something of a relief. He wouldn't have to face anyone new, wouldn't have to wonder who they were, and there was a seat waiting for him beside Wufei. He moved quietly around the backside of the room to settle into the chair beside Wufei, pulling his datapad out to take notes as might be necessary. It was reassuring to see the Gundam pilots in the room, Noin, the other Preventers. To know the world still stood despite a mole getting in.

"Yo, hey!" Wind was grinning at him from across the table, waving like a lunatic. "You're a real boy again!"

Wufei put his face in one palm and sighed.

"Doesn't feel any different." He glanced sideways at Wufei, smiling fondly at the exasperation. Maybe the office antics were more enjoyable kept at a distance.

"And yet, here you are. Hey, hey, Heero, look!"

Heero glanced Duo's way, gave a chuff of amusement, and then went back to his agenda. "It's not that exciting."

"Carbon is right -- Not that exciting," Treize agreed, smiling to himself as he looked down. 

"Anyone else need to get that out of their system, now that Preventer Iron has joined us? No?" Lady was as intimidating as ever, no matter how soft her smile when she spoke.

There came various choruses of no and head shaking, and everyone settled in to meet. Lady was still quite good at gathering people's attention and putting them in order, so everyone inevitably looked to her for guidance.

"We have good intel on three large factions that have spun out of White Fang and L1, and there are an additional twelve splinter groups." She began to pass around data chips with the information.

"A baker's dozen wasn't enough, obviously." Noin's voice was dry as she dropped chip into place before glancing over the data. "The worst of the lot is probably Blue Sun from what we can tell. They aren't above using some pretty vile methods to get what they want."

"Which one have you tied to the weapons factory in Kuala Lumpur?" He asked it calmly, only slightly fumbling his own data chip as it was passed to him.

Anne tapped on her datapad. "Blue Sun and White Fang both had connections, which certainly doesn't help anything. If they're collaborating..."

He took his time bringing up the data, starting by going through the files methodically while Anne talked; monitoring her words but looking at the screen. If it were someone else, what would he recommend? As Iron, not as the dead General. Either the person needed to go into witness protection, or their profile needed to be raised so high that it made it harder for the group to target them unnoticed. That made sense, why Dorothy had sped everything up. It wasn't as if they didn't already know who he was, where he lived and... they wanted him for Epyon. For the ability to build another. 

It was that last part that was anxiety inducing. When they hadn't had leverage, yes, he had been good, silent. He'd struggled so hard not to say a word. Now that he was in the open, he had a great deal with which someone could lever him.

Beside him, Wufei hummed thoughtfully. "Right. I'm going to need the schematics for all of the security upgrades and I'll lay in a store of weapons."

"Not a bad idea." Heero leaned back, arms crossed. "We should consider Preventer housing."

"Yeah, because security totally stopped any of us from blowing up a bunch of shit."

"It is under consideration," Lady noted, "but the Sanc government does prefer that we live on the economy. It normalizes our presence in the capitol."

Down the way, Sally shifted. "Isn't that more or less what we're doing with the apartments they already have?"

Heero looked at Lady. "Let me rephrase. We should consider Preventer housing for people under threat. Having additional staff living in the same building would make it more difficult to get to them."

So really Heero just wanted to get deeper into the issue. Perhaps there was an apartment for rent on another floor.

"It's a nice apartment building if you find a vacancy." He glanced up to Heero from his screen, mostly sure that pilot 01 had been somewhere in the palace and _belonged_ there.

Someone had to be the prince consort, whenever they felt like doing the paperwork.

Heero was gazing at him, expression bland. "Duo needs a new apartment."

"No, no, I do not, thank you. We got everything worked out."  
Aa  
"A less pressing discussion to be handled later, Carbon, Wind," Lady interrupted. "You each have your assignments to break down this network further. Iron, you have not been assigned anything directly, given that you are... their target. But you will be able to assist with any step of this work. I would prefer to keep you on current threat analysis."

He inclined his head slightly. "Of course, Lady."

After that, it devolved into assignments and who was responsible for what; the long and short of Wufei and Duo's responsibility was to keep up with their own work and be sure no one got their hands on Treize. 

That amount of focus on being not-kidnapped was concerning, though he didn't comment on it one way or the other. The meeting started to slowly break up, and Noin came over to shake his hand, because apparently she'd never suspected.

"It's good to see you again, sir." She honestly seemed to mean it, her eyes crinkled with the pleasure of it. "I'm glad to know I wasn't going crazy every time I thought Iron reminded me of you."

"I was never cut out for undercover operations." He smiled back, easy, not having to reach for it as he closed his datapad. "It was a pleasure to be your overwatch. You are always excellent in the field." She had grown so much as a person from her days in Zechs's shadow.

"I had a fabulous instructor," she told him, and yes. Yes. There was something about that smile, the way she seemed so happy to see him. "That always does help."

He was sure she was going to continue to be excellent in the field, without a doubt. "Let me know when you have a free evening sometime. I'd like to hear how you're doing." Iron had been friendly, but had never asked deeply personal questions, the sorts of things Treize had always known or asked after.

"As well as anyone can in New Kansas. They have the most horrifying weather," Noin told him. "As someone who's lived in almost every possible continent, I have to say they have some truly impressive storms."

"You have to have found something to commend the place." She was always optimistic, a bright spot in their unit, so she had no doubt continued with that same kind of make her way tenacity.

Ah, yes. She laughed, her head tilting back with it. "Well, there are a remarkable number of men with fabulous asses," she informed him. "But they're very proud of their trees. I've seen bigger shrubberies."

"... Never join their tourism board," he said after a moment, laughing. That was a baffling response, and he added, "Never been there, don't think I'll be traveling any time soon, unfortunately."

Ah, he knew that sly look. "No, I'd say you're settling in pretty well here." Her gaze darted toward Wufei where he was talking with Duo. "And while I don't advise New Kansas, I can honestly say that the Southern Colonies are beautiful. Strange and occasionally backward, but they're not lacking in views."

"New Port City has some very nice views," he said, leaning back in his chair slightly to follow her glance over to Wufei. "I missed having a place to call home. I hope you're enjoying New Canada as much."

"It's growing on me." She grinned. "Like I said. There are a number of men who have fabulous asses. If nothing else, I'm appreciating the... variety."

Then perhaps she was getting over their once mutual friend. "When do you fly back?"

"Next week. I'd planned on taking some leave for a few days before this whole meeting came to be a thing, but since I'm here, I might as well take it here. The shopping's better," Noin confided, reaching out and touching his hand just lightly. "And so are the friends."

"Dinner Saturday," he proposed, because he could hold it together that long. "I promise to order in something you won't regret."

"Don't know if Mercury can cook yet, huh?" Ah, yes. That impish smile was quite familiar. "Well. Takeaway will be fine, then."

"I know my own cooking can keep Mariemaia from suffering food poisoning but that perhaps it isn't sufficient for an adult palate." He started to stand up because he needed to see about work and a toolkit and Epyon. "I'll message you, but you already have the address."

"I do indeed. I'll see you Saturday, then. I'll bring wine." Which sounded like quite an evening. He wondered what Wufei would think of it.

But it would be good to see Noin, to see her in a non-professional stance, to hear more about the men with the nice asses and tiny trees -- what a strange comment, surely there was a good story there. He pulled away, heading toward Wufei, and tapped his shoulder gently. "I'm going to the hangars. If you're looking for me."

Wufei nodded. "All right. Let me know if you decide to leave, yes?"

"Yes." It wasn't that Wufei didn't think he could get home in one piece; it was just if Treize were going to be targeted, he didn't have to make himself a sitting duck out of stubbornness. 

His hand lingered maybe a moment too long, and then he turned to leave before anything else distracted him or he was able to talk himself out of his decision to cooperate.

The hangar wasn't far; maybe a couple of blocks, and the on site personnel were all Preventers. That didn't help his paranoia considering Copper. Partway there, he realized that he had a shadow, but the immediate hair standing on end reaction was undeniable. It settled when he realized it was Wind strolling along behind him.

He still turned, acknowledged Wind, and waited for him to catch up. "I can't remember if you did your own repair work."

"Nah," Wind replied as he fell into step. "I mean, it's not that I can't. I can. Just, y'know, if you've got professionals lined up, why fuck with it yourself?"

"Because it's an enjoyable skill." Because, when the use of Mechs was new, not something everyone was used to having, they had needed to maintain their own rigs, and it lent a fondness and respect for the machines that people lacked now. The difference between an early model Leo and a Gundam had been vast, but in the end they were much the same -- if you were disabled, no one was coming for you. Either you fixed it, rigged a way to survive, or you weren't around anymore.

Wind shrugged. "I've worked on it, sure. Got the skills. But y'know, Howard was way fucking skilled, my dude, and you just don't turn that down if you have any sense."

"Howard was very skilled," Treize agreed. "OZ had him for a while. That was thirty years ago."

"And I'm telling you, man, he's only gotten better." Wind grinned at him and pulled open the side door of the hangar. "It's in here. You should have seen Heero's face when he hit the security factors you installed.

"I wish I had." The hanger was badly lit -- always the least maintained part of any facility, or possibly because no one wanted to get up onto a ladder to fight the lights when they went out -- but it felt familiar. They were all the same in the end, smelled of metal and grease and hydraulics if someone were having a particularly bad day. He could see the bulk of Epyon surrounded by scaffolding, and -- down by its feet -- the disconnected cockpit hooked into monitors. Half of his work was going to be working out what they'd done to Epyon in the first place. "I don't want to know where he is. Given circumstances."

Wind slotted his hands behind his head as they strolled. "You think he's in hiding? How the hell do you think we got the cockpit out of this thing?"

"I'm surprised he didn't unlock it, if he's around." He stopped to inspect it for a moment, laying a hand on the back of the headrest as he oriented himself to what he'd done. He definitely needed a toolkit, and then he'd have to get into the seat himself.

That laughter was bright, easy. The fact that it came from someone who'd led such a horrible life -- horrible enough that Treize had to acknowledge it was in fact worse than his own -- was enough to make him smile as well. "Nah, it's way more fun for him if we fumblefuck around with it and singe our nose hairs trying to get into it."

He had liked Howard when he'd helped OZ for a time, but that quite cemented it as he crouched down by the access panel beneath the controls and opened it. "I'm going to need pliers."

"You bet." Wind wandered off then, probably to fetch him one, and Treize got down to brass tacks, poking around to see what they'd done. Nothing substantial or effective; they'd been going with the troubleshooting technique of spray and pray, swapping things one item at a time and making no impact at all. He reached in to undo clips and separate wires bare-handed, with familiar care, getting comfortable.

He'd changed the colors of the wires on them, so of course everything looked sensible and they couldn't work out what had happened.

Just thinking about it made him smirk. That probably hadn't helped the jolt Heero had gotten.

"Yo, got a whole set." A clang behind him sounded. "Of everything. What kind you want?"

"Bent needle nose," he said thoughtfully. He took a moment, too, to reorganize his wires.

Wind offered up the necessary tools and settled back on his haunches, watching. And, rather obviously, _watching_ , which was going to get old before too long.

He let it slide, taking it and starting the tedious work of reconnection for the power conduits. If Wind needed a very dull way to amuse himself, he might as well do it this way.

"So whatcha doing in there?" Or he was there to annoy him to death.

"Returning the wiring to the original configuration so the person taking the seat won't be electrocuted." Step one of unlocking it.

Wind leaned in. "Hell, I still wonder how they managed to salvage this much of it, to be honest. I mean. Marquise Mirialdo pretty much went boom when Heero hit him, so..."

"Cockpit was heavily reinforced. I had originally planned to pilot it myself." He glanced up to the bulk of Epyon. "A lot of the repairs have been badly done. The power core cracked, and it would have been the radiation that killed him."

"Oh, shit, dude. That had to suck." Wind paused and stretched, everything cracking. "So. Anything I can do to help?"

"If I start to seize up when I get into the cockpit seat, pull me out," he said it succinctly, closing the access panel.

Wind backed up. "Hey, whoa whoa whoa, no, no, you are not the guinea pig. Let me be the guinea pig, or wait for Wufei. He'll fucking kill me if I let you in there."

He turned a little, facing Wind. "I also locked it from inside the system, and it won't recognize any other pilots. Stopping at rewiring would have been lazy."

"Well shit." He sighed. "Fine, fine, whatever. But I swear to god if you go up in flames, I'm legit telling him it was your own fault. Geez."

"It's not going to go up in flames." He settled into the cockpit -- no nasty shocks -- and leaned back, reaching for the interface helmet for the neural network. It was easy to settle into the helmet, and then he reached for the button to activate it.

The truth was that it was strangely comfortable; like slipping on old shoes before he took a run, really, just a tangle of electronics and future that spiraled into something that made sense as he began working on the lockdown.

Every time they had thrown him in there and tried to force him to do their work for them, he had tangled the system up tighter, and now it was a careful unraveling, trying to unpick his previous work that had been seeded with panic, misery and desperation because whatever they wanted it for, the fact that they wanted it was enough to make him want to make sure they couldn't have it. He had seen nothing, no future for himself, and he had been right; he'd been gone, out of the public consciousness and he hadn't really existed for a few years and maybe that was enough.

How long he was in it, he didn't know. It didn't seem like it was long because that was how things went with him and Epyon; he worked and worked and worked, and he only let up when it let go of him. When it decided there had been enough.

So it was a surprise, in the end, when there were hands on his, distracting him, and the neural interface loosened its grasp.

He was swimming for a moment, not disoriented, but overloaded a little, too much, too much information to sift through, information they needed, that he could use. But he hadn't gone looking for grand fates and outcomes, he'd just wanted to reassure himself that the system worked.

The system worked again, and he managed to lift his hands to take the helmet off. "Wufei."

He was there, watching him, face solemn. "You've been at it for a while. Is it always like this for you?"

It took him a moment to remember the external monitors -- of course. So they could see what he was doing in the system, or what Wufei was doing in it. "Yes. It's like piloting, it's..." Almost relaxing, certainly a flow state.

"Mm. Relaxing. Strangely. At least ZERO was. It made things ridiculously clear, I have to admit. Just sort of... parsed away the things that didn't need immediate consideration. I believe the others saw one path, but it was more... nuanced for me. That or having seen my colony in its last moments twisted something for me. I don't know." He was looking at Treize, obviously checking his reactions.

He felt fine, though, and set the helmet aside carefully, before standing up to step out of the cockpit. Treize was stiff from having been in the system for however long he'd been in it, but he felt a little invigorated at worst. "I don't have a path anymore. I'm a dead man. Gives you quite a bit of freedom in a system like this."

Wufei's brows both rose. "You don't say." He didn't sound surprised, didn't sound judgmental.

"This isn't the timeline we were looking at." He said it casually, watching Wufei's reaction as he flipped the switches to power it down. "The one we're in. I don't know what happened."

The shrug of Wufei's shoulders seemed eloquent. "Whatever it was, something obviously changed." Just what it was, he thought none of them would ever be able to guess.

That was what happened with probability based use of systemic inter-relational databases. "What time is it?"

"Almost six." Oh. That was quite late, actually. "I thought you might be a bit hungry by now."

"I think I need to use the bathroom before we head back." So he had lost a good eight hours to the system, and had no real clear feeling of what he had done, except that it was running well, and whatever he had been modeling out would eventually surface above a subconscious level, probably after some sleep and food.

Wufei tipped his head to the right. "It's over there. They'll switch shift in about an hour, so I thought it was better to pull you out now and for us to get moving. Have any preferences for supper?"

"Quick?" He tried to remember what would be on the street on the walk back. "There's a café, there's a couple of cafés on the way back."

"The one with the pastries?" Hm. Yes, that sounded quite good, actually, and he could see Wufei perk up at the thought of it. "With the raspberry things. I would marry their pâtissière if I thought she'd have me."

"She's a lesbian. With cats. They have very nice Brie burgers." He had to run later. Well. In the morning, he would have to get up and run, because Wufei's smile was alluring, even as he pulled away to duck into the latrine.

"I'd marry her for the Brie burgers, too!" Wufei called after him, clearly a lie, but a lie that he gave Treize with infinite amusement.

"That's bigamy!" He called over his shoulder. "Her wife is a lovely person." 

He hadn't realized how long he'd been sitting still, but his bladder told the truth, and it was a relief to finish and wash his hands before rejoining Wufei. "How long did it take for Wind to get bored?"

Wufei smirked up at him. "He held out until lunch. Then he called, told me he was dying of boredom and that he was contemplating blowing up something and that I should come watch you instead."

"Did I find anything interesting? I need sleep before I can make sense of any of it." He walked with Wufei to grab their coats down from the rack.

"I'm sure you must have done, but for now..." Wufei leaned in once he had on his coat, then put his scarf around Treize's neck. "I think it's probably for the best if you mostly think about food. Much wiser choice in my opinion."

He lingered, smiling as Wufei put the scarf on him, and leaned in to smooth Wufei's hair before putting his hat on. "I won't argue."

"That's kind of you." His gloved hand found Treize's once he'd pulled on his own, and they set out.

It was dark outside, but the weather felt perfectly crisp and cold, and the city lights were gleaming around them, bright sparks falling from windows, the street lights warm and glowing to light their way.

He liked it there. The city felt peaceful, and there were families out, students, other people from headquarters doing exactly what they were doing; going out for a meal, or a drink, loitering at shops and seeing friends. Existing, without worrying that everything was going to explode into war.

Just enjoying being real. Being actual people, and while his left hand was cold, his right hand was warm where it was clasped by Wufei's, and everything felt right. It felt like surely there was no other Treize in any other conceivable universe could be as happy as he was at just that moment, although he certainly hoped for their sake that they came close.

They stopped in the cafe, and ordered pastries and Brie burgers to go. Wufei made small talk with the cashier, who Treize thought was the owner's sister, and Treize looked at the art on the walls like he had a hundred times before. They rotated it, based on who from the art school was showing just then. Sometimes it was very strange and interesting. Sometimes it was beautiful. Sometimes he bought something, or wondered if he might contact the artist to have something drawn specifically for him, and tonight was one of those nights. The piece was beautiful, with stark lines and a sort of sketchiness that Treize delighted in seeing. He could imagine a piece drawn just for him, and that would certainly be worth the pursuit.

"It's nice." Wufei was done talking, and they were just waiting now, standing there. "I like that one."

"Red chalk with highlights?" He asked it, leaning into Wufei a little. "Or blue and green?"

"The blue and green. The way it blends into black makes me... I don't know. I like it." His head tilted toward Treize. "The red chalk isn't bad, but the other one has a sort of flow."

Treize leaned up to snag the artist's card from the little card holder, and tucked it into his coat pocket. "Hmn, the colors blend nicely."

Wufei tucked his arm around Treize and slid his hand in the opposite pocket. "Going to contact the artist for something?"

"Yes." He wasn't sure what yet, but yes. "Come eat dinner upstairs with me. You've been very generous in sharing your space."

He felt Wufei go just a little still and then his head dropped and his arm squeezed gently. "Thank you for the invitation into yours. Yes, please."

"It's not sacrosanct, I just..." He tilted his head, looked at Wufei, felt the smile that he guessed was showing on his face.

"Hadn't thought of it." Perhaps it was a little strange, that Wufei had waited for an invitation, particularly since Treize had invaded his space without waiting for one. "It's fine. You have more difficulties with spending time around other people than I do."

He had done very well in the office, though it had been a short meeting and a long time interfacing with a familiar machine, so perhaps not so much of a victory as he had originally been inclined to take it as.

But he hadn't frozen up or had to fight for words, because it hadn't been that stressful. "Yes. But I like spending time with you."

Wufei's head turned up, just a bit to the side, and Treize could see the look there now, the pleasure that his words had brought him. "Yes. Yes. I enjoy spending time with you, too."

He felt a little stupid and warm, and happy to be out with Wufei, like the first days back on earth. The cashier called his fake name, Rauta, and he tugged Wufei with him to grab their bag of food.

"Here you go, gentlemen!" The owner's sister looked at him, frowned as though she was making connections, and then clearly shrugged it off as being highly unlikely. "Come see us again soon, yes?"

"Yes." He smiled, taking the big bag, and then maneuvering out the door and back onto the crisp cold street with Wufei. It wasn't a long walk back to their place, and the walk up the stairs helped shake the cold. He was glad Lady hadn't made him relocate, because he really did feel comfortable there, even after what had happened.

Perhaps particularly after what had happened, since they'd both gotten some pretty great security upgrades.

His apartment lit up automatically when they entered, motion sensors setting off so that they weren't roaming around in the dark. Wufei had been there at least once before, of course, but he had been in Duo's company and clearly hadn't done a lot of looking around. Now he was peering with a good deal more curiosity.

Most everything was back the way it was, perfectly back the way it had been. Lady had done a good job instructing whoever she had do it, and Treize had done the last adjustments to make everything feel familiar and untouched. He set the bag down on one butcher block countertop, and started to unpack while Wufei wandered.

"I see why you liked the artist," he finally said, looking at an odd amalgamation artwork that no one else had ever understood. They'd always been confused as to why he didn't have classic pieces or large paintings, as if that were more important than having what he liked.

Treize liked the sketchy, the lines that evoked a sense of motion and life. He got plates out, glancing over his shoulder. "The family estates were always filled with what we consider classics that someone else had bought because they... liked it."

Wufei hummed and stepped back toward him. "Your apartment is very nice. Open, and airy even though the ceiling is a bit lower than mine."

"You have to see the sunset from here, when it's not winter." He settled Wufei's burger and chips on a plate for him, and repeated it with his own, trying to resist the urge to lick jam off his fingers.

"I know what you want to do. Just lick them, already. I always manage to get it on mine. Be shameless." He was teasing, settling in on the stool that was on the opposite side of the butcher block counter.

He stuck his pointer in his mouth to suck off the jam, going for the fridge door with his other hand. "What would you like to drink?"

"Whatever you have is fine. I'm not picky." And he wasn't, not really. "Water is always good."

"That's... good, because this is empty." He laughed to himself, staring into it for a moment, and then closed the door. "I can only guess Lady considered its contents a health hazard while we were in the palace?" He would have to get groceries before Friday, if nothing else so he could provide Mariemaia with one of her usual requests -- random meat and macaroni and cheese that was shaped like bunnies. 

Because Giancarlo considered it sacrilege. Water it was.

"I'd laugh except we spent all weekend at mine." And groceries had been delivered because they'd been too busy fucking and cuddling to bother putting on clothes. There was more than enough downstairs if they bothered but Wufei was more than fine with water.

He ran two glasses from the tap, and brought them over. "Mariemaia is coming over Friday. She still has a child's palate, which means I have time still to learn to cook for an adult."

"Ah. So I suppose I should make other plans for Friday, yes?" Wufei popped a chip in his mouth. "I understand if you don't want to make introductions as yet. I've seen her since the attempted coup, and it doesn't seem to bother her, seeing me. But it not bothering her and seeing me in your apartment are quite different."

"We could try." He snagged a stool to sit on beside Wufei, smiling. "Lady believes she would be all right with it." It would be a balancing act, but he could at least introduce them.

"As you like. Whatever is the easiest. It's early days yet, no?" It was clear that Wufei didn't want to add pressure to him.

He tilted his head a little, glancing at Wufei and picking up his burger. "It is. I've never been good at any of this."

Wufei tilted his head, ate another chip. "This? Relationships or...?"

"Relationships. No surprise there." His case history on that was easily guessed probably by anyone who had access to a history book which was something he didn't think very hard on very often.

Wufei made a sound, soft, thoughtful. "Well, I've always been quite good at them. Remarkably. Long term works better for me, so perhaps it will balance out." He took a bite of his burger and moaned. "Why is it better each time?"

"Anticipation." And maybe that was the answer for both dinner and relationships. Then he added wryly, "Most of them have ended in death or reassignment."

With a shrug, Wufei licked jam off of his thumb. "I'm not planning on dying anytime soon. I expect we'll have time to work it out."

"Neither am I." Unless someone else intervened, and given that the intervening people had an interest in keeping him alive... It wasn't a thought that went well with food, so he took another messy bite, watching Wufei's tongue on his hand with interest.

It wasn't much of a surprise when he did it again before biting into the burger. "'s good." The burger and that he wasn't planning on dying, Treize supposed.

It was nice to sit there, enjoying dinner and relaxing, letting his mind unravel a little after spending that time sifting through Epyon. Something about the terraforming on Mars, he wasn't sure; it was nothing pressing and nothing like the firm emptiness that had faced him the last time.

It was a blessing of sorts. To know that there was something there, that there was a future. He had no idea what had changed, what had made it a possibility, but it was there, and such a relief.

"Hey. You all right?" Wufei was looking at him, head tilted to the side. "It's okay if you aren't."

Somewhere in there his Brie has sogged through his bun, and his hands were a mess. "I'm." He turned it over in his head, looking at Wufei, thinking about what to say. It was just one half a moment among so many; he hadn't drilled down, just sifted information, noted interesting things, and there had been so much of it that handling it actively was a struggle for the moment. "Yes. Did you do your own work on Altron?"

Dark brows twitched, questioning. "Well. Yes. Why do you ask?"

He shifted his leg, pressing his knee against Wufei's under the table. The missing piece of the puzzle, he decided, satisfied. "Just curious. Epyon, it, it was... Vast."

Wufei's knee pressed back against him, his thigh warm. "And it somehow told you that I worked on Nataku myself. The final upgrades, in the end. Laoshi was held captive on the moon base at the same time I was. There were no scientists on L5 to finish the upgrades, so."

"No, it." He set the half eaten burger down, fiddling with a chip. The paprika on them was a nice touch, just enough heat and tang to be an interesting counterpoint. "Showed me something to work to."

For a long moment, Wufei seemed to think, fiddling with his food. "Does it make you happy?"

"Yes." In a way it was astonishing to be back on the map, to exist again, to have... something way out there that wasn't vacant again. He popped the chip into his mouth. "You'll have to tell me if I'm doing something wrong in this."

"We should probably have a long talk." If that sounded a little pained, well. "But the sex is so good that we just sort of..." Wufei shrugged. "Yeah."

"Avoid it." He took a swig of water, feeling the pressure, the comfort of Wufei's leg against his. "That's what I usually do."

"Maybe we should try something different this time." Wufei's head tilted to the side. "Probably best if we try from at least three feet apart." The rueful amusement was obvious.

"When you're not covered in jam," Treize agreed, picking up the last of his burger. "I could... try very hard."

That earned him a laugh. "Well. Maybe in a bit then."

Treize took another bite, trying to be more careful. "This might be the safer apartment for talks. I don't have any of the useful accoutrements."

"Huh." Wufei considered that for a long moment, poking at his burger. "So maybe we should also talk about my sex drive versus yours. Insofar as the extent of it."

"Mm?" He was going to let Wufei explain what he meant by that, particularly since it was a slowly offered phrase. That meant there was weight behind it, just as much as when he tried to find the words sometimes.

One shoulder shrugged. "I've never considered whether I might have a high demand sort of sex drive, but I do have all of the necessary things that I'd like to have. You said you don't have anything here, so... Maybe it's higher than I think and I should consider how yours runs."

That was something he'd never really considered before, and his first reaction was to say it was fine, obviously, but perhaps it needed a little deeper thought than that. He started to answer, stopped, and set down the fringes of burger that was left, wiping his hands off. "Every other day or so?"

Wufei thought about it. "Seems on par. Maybe it just seems often with you. Maybe it's honeymoon syndrome because..." His voice deepened a little towards the end, and he paused, cleared his throat. "Because it's really good."

He settled his right hand lightly on Wufei's thigh, and just left it there. "Harder to be enthusiastic about it when it's your left hand and your fantasies. You, on the other hand..." Live, real, kissable, and he was backsliding, he was going to stay where he was on the stool and not lean into Wufei.

"More perfunctory," Wufei agreed, and pulled back because they were going to have to talk and not fuck. "Right. So. You... there are a lot of things. I don't know where to start, truly."

"Foreplay and aftercare are important." His left hand was capable of exactly neither, and not interesting to engage with that way, took a situation from something he never wanted to revisit to something he wanted to repeat frequently.

"Everything with you feels good." Better than good, actually. "And you know what you're doing there. Obviously. But... what do you want in a relationship? What do you expect? Is there something... I don't know." Wufei ate the last bite of his burger, clearly thinking. "Meiran needed, for lack of a better word, a prince consort. Mu Tsu needed to be loved. I needed..." Wufei paused. "I don't know. I needed them. It was, it was just how it was. And you feel similar to the way they felt. The same. It's hard to explain."

"You could try." It was an offer, not a challenge, because he was considering what he wanted while he took another sip of water, and half mourned that there wasn't any beer in his fridge. 

What _did_ he want? No one had ever asked him that before, and he'd never really... expected much. Loyalty while it lasted, rather low expectations, that someone would keep his secrets while they were privy to them, that if they harmed him on their way out he'd return the favor.

Sleights of hand that weren't appropriate to build anything on.

Wufei let out a long slow breath. "Hm. With Meiran and Mu Tsu, they were just always there. Even after they died, they were there, on my mind. You're something like that, I think. Never far from my mind, even when you were dead. Or not dead. As it were. Maybe some people would call it an obsession, but it's not that, it's just.. Iron was funny and quirky and I grew to like him. With you, there was this immediate attraction, even the first time and we crossed swords then. You're kind when you can be. You aren't the same as before the war, and when you turned out to be the person who was so charming, it just, it coalesced?"

"I didn't magically become a better person." That was easier to say than anything deeper, because it seemed like it could be a sticking point. He leaned his leg against Wufei's again, because he liked, wanted the casual contact. "What do you... think I was before the war?"

"Satan?" Wufei shook his head. "The first time I heard your name was when my wife died. After that, I was obsessed. For a while. Learned everything about you that I could." He poked at a chip. "And then we met and you were so calm and self-possessed. And quite good with a sword." He gave something like a chuckle. "You know, I can count on exactly one hand how many times I've met someone who was automatically attractive to me." He looked up at him. "It was enough to make me insane. Or at the very least utterly depressed."

"Probably not the first time someone's been depressed to find me attractive." He tried not to lean in, to stay where he was, even as he fiddled with a chip on his own plate, watching Wufei's elegant, strong fingers. No, he didn't think they'd have a libido mismatch problem. "And what did you find out? Always been good at keeping my secrets."

"I don't know. The next time I saw you, I killed you. Or I thought I did. Not the most pleasant experience. So that was that, I thought. And then there was Iron, and you were charming and funny and very good at what you do. I knew it was you the second I saw you on the stairs, you know. The attraction was... quite immediate. Again." His mouth quirked upward. "Pheromones, do you think?"

He rather liked that idea, even if it seemed ridiculous. "Could be." The urge to lean in and kiss that quirk of mouth was intense, but he let it linger, letting the anticipation exist, build, while he struggled with the words that had quite suddenly presented themselves to Wufei's earlier question. "I need. I need..."

Wufei waited for a long moment, then pulled his datapad loose from his pocket and opened a blank document, dropping it on the table top for him.

He gave a huff, a half a laugh, and leaned to close the space between them, putting his forehead on Wufei's shoulder for a minute. "Fuck." So close, and he'd skirted so many other topics well, but had to type that one out. It was quick, everything was quicker in text, once he pulled away from Wufei, and then passed it back to him.

He needed to be loved for himself, rather than a role someone expected him to fill for them. Leader, savior, perfect, Ein. Because deviation from it was the end of it. He wasn't a good pacifist, he wasn't even a bad pacifist, he hadn't been able to rescue Zechs from himself enough times, he couldn't save Leia from her family, he hadn't been flawless and just what Lady had remembered, cold smooth calm perfection.

That face. That face was... he wasn't really sure, actually, what to say about the way Wufei was looking at him. "You're human. I think it would be fair to say that no one should expect perfection. No one expects to be saved more than whatever the fuck we all did. It was... it was. We all were." Wufei tilted his head. "I liked Iron, you, for the personal things. The quirks. The sense of humor. And I like you, even though you snore like a whistling teapot sometimes and you keep putting the butter in the refrigerator." One shoulder shrugged. "I don't expect you to be perfect. I expect you to care, and that seems to be the one thing you do better than anything else."

Being accused of being wrong about where to keep the butter was more offensive than being informed he snored -- like a teapot? -- but both made him smile, leaning in closer to Wufei. That was all he wanted, needed. It was probably a perfectly normal need, whether they had done extraordinary things or not.

"Can I kiss you now?"

"Do you even have to ask?" This was so easy. He would almost think it was _too_ easy but then Wufei leaned in, mouth soft and sweet, no tongue, just affectionate.

And that was precisely what he wanted. Affection for _him_ , for it to be personal. For it to be real.

Warm and soft, the press and friction of lips on his as he tilted his head just a little, breathing through his nose as he brought a hand up to touch at Wufei's back. 

Maybe he required a certain level of regular affection, but he was guessing Wufei did, too, from the way he started it as often as Treize did.

When they pulled apart, Wufei let out a breath and opened his eyes. "Hi again."

He pressed his forehead against Wufei's forehead, enjoying the closeness for a moment before he straightened up. "Hi. What else were we going to talk about?"

Wufei blinked, still so close, and then smiled. "I don't do short term. Once I'm attached, I'm attached. So if you're thinking of something like that, now's the time to say. Everything afterward is just logistics."

"No, not thinking something like that." He leaned in to kiss him again, and added, "Though butter does belong in the fridge."

"Does not. It's perfectly fine on the counter, especially in a controlled environment. Why else do butter bells exist?" Wufei replied. "Plus, butter in the fridge just screws up the bread when you want to make toast."

"At Lake Victoria, I shared rooms and a kitchen with eight other officers, and the air conditioning very often broke. Habit." He laughed when he said it, sliding his hand down along Wufei's spine. "This needs testing."

"I'll try to keep reminding you." Wufei leaned in closer. "So, we both like sex and we aren't thinking short term. What else needs covering?"

"We both have our separate interests and obligations." Which was good, very good, and he wondered what else. "I have insomnia. You probably noticed."

Wufei shrugged. "I've noticed. If you need to get up and wander to do something about the insomnia, it's fine. I sleep heavy when I'm not on a mission."

"I'll probably just come up here and work until I'm tired again. I enjoy sleeping with you." But he didn't enjoy tossing and turning, so he didn't fight it when he couldn't get back to sleep.

"Just leave me a note." Ah. Yes, because waking up alone when it wasn't expected was somewhat worrisome. "I frequently leave damp towels on the floor."

"I sometimes get dressed out of the clothes drier. Since I don't have to wear a uniform." The edges of his mouth quirked. "That's the worst I have."

"I'm sure we'll have more than sufficient time to figure out what quirks we hate about one another," Wufei murmured, and then leaned in to kiss him again.

He was looking forward to it; to hiding less, to it being less of a performance art and more of... more existing. More normal, and the kisses were so good. He wanted to pull Wufei off the stool and onto his lap, only he didn't think it would take the weight.

They weren't very well built barstools.

When they pulled apart, it was easy, and Wufei reached out, poked his finger at his burger, and then licked it clean. "So."

"We have dessert." Though that could be saved for later, as he was interested enough and had enough failing of concentration to want to just loiter with Wufei for a while.

"Eat it in bed?" Wufei offered, dark grey eyes sparking with want and amusement.

"Yes." He would even offer his bed, except he didn't have any of the nicer accoutrements, but they at least had an option to change the scenery when or if Wufei was ever interested.

"Let's take it downstairs then. I'll eat it off of you if you want."

"Never tried that." The idea went right to his dick, so it wasn't a problem, slipping of the stool to clean up the plates off the countertop quickly.

"There's a first time for everything." Wufei stood and stretched, spine popping.

"Yes, there is. This sounds like a nice first time." He was quick with the dishes, and put the plates into the dishwasher while Wufei tidied away the remainders of the wrappings and put them in the bin.

By the time that was done, there was only the container for dessert held in his left hand. He held out his right one when Treize turned from the sink. "Come."

Treize felt his mouth quirk as he took Wufei's hand. "Not a bad day."

"No," Wufei agreed. "Not at all."

* * *

Dinner with Treize was fine at any given time, but dinner with Treize and Mariemaia somehow felt a little intimidating. Possibly it was even more intimidating because Anne and her boyfriend were coming, too. Treize had wanted to get takeout or make pasta with rabbits and barns.

Wufei had looked at him, frowned, and made a shopping list.

Steaks and the makings for a Caesar salad was much easier in Wufei's opinion, made for a better show, and was much more in the realm of what Treize was capable of cooking.

Particularly after Treize had told him the story about cooking ground squirrels with the pocket heaters from rations that had spoiled.

Wufei had eaten a lot of terrible crap, no lie. He'd been a pilot and a fighter, their colony had been poor. He was well enough off now, but that was because the resources for supporting twenty-thousand people were now only supporting him. And yet somehow he had never tried anything that unpleasant and he didn't plan to think about it.

Treize had seemed rather pleased with the whole bizarre story, because he had loved his unit and his Company, and there was nothing like an enthusiastic asshole to turn a very grim realization into a sport and a competition that had probably cleared out all the small animals and lizards in that particular patch of Mexican scrubland. But the only thing it commended him to was skill with grilling things. 

Grocery shopping had probably been more harrowing than dinner was going to be.

At least he hoped that Treize wouldn't pull out any of those stories while they were eating. God, he hoped he wouldn't. 

Still, it had been easy enough to toss together the salad. He'd roasted asparagus and trusted Treize to grill the steaks while he threw together a garlic butter sauce. Maybe he was a little nervous.

Just a little.

It was as close as he was going to get to meeting the in-laws. And he knew Anne, and Une, both, found her fierce and intimidating, and had heard the little comments from Treize, remarks that indicated she was protective of him. Like an older sibling.

An older sibling from Flowers in the Attic, because there was no way she hadn't spent time on her knees in front of Treize, slobbering on his dick with her hands roped up and god, he'd promised himself he wasn't going to think about that.

He really didn't need to think about that. Mostly because if he did, he'd think about their plans for Saturday and honestly, he didn't need to have a hardon all though dinner. There was a time and a place and this was neither of those things. In-laws. And she was bringing her longtime boyfriend, an international finance lawyer. In-laws. He repeated it to himself and the mental image went away, helped by Treize fucking around with a meat thermometer and the butter smoking on the cast iron pan in a way that he was mostly sure wasn't planned, but did get Treize's attention.

Dear god, why had he trusted Treize to cook anything? He already knew better. "Everything else is almost ready."

"This is fine." Treize opened the oven door to stick the whole pan into it, and had the meat thermometer running into some piece of it, and out the closed oven door.

"If you say so." Because it was his call on that. Wufei thought that he would just trust that Treize was good at charring meat. Considering the ground squirrel story.

He seemed pleased with himself, leaning against the countertop in black slacks and a white button down that was rolled up to the elbows. He'd look very good when he had to put out a butter fire in the oven.

Very very good.

No, not thinking about it.

Honeymoon syndrome was a pain in the ass. And sometimes in other places.

"Kiss me before they get here."

Treize smirked, because he could guess and enjoyed what he was guessing as he walked over to Wufei to do just that. "I know, best behavior."

"You shouldn't have warned me about your plans for tomorrow, now all I'll be able to..."

A knock came on the door.

Treize leaned into him, and kissed his bottom lip, eyes closed for a brief moment before he pulled away, exhaling. "Anticipation."

And then he'd swung the door open and was grinning at the people on the other side.

Well. The international finance lawyer was insanely attractive.

"Hello, Father!" Mariemaia was in her chair and was beaming up at Treize. It was appallingly adorable, and then she peered around him and her mouth curled upward. "Hello, Wufei."

"Hello, Mariemaia."

Treize stepped back to let everyone in, and then leaned down to hug Mariemaia, smiling in a very easy relaxed way. 

The thermometer hanging out of the oven started to beep. "We're having steak. Pasta was vetoed, but I think you'll like this."

"I was absolutely certain he'd set the kitchen on fire," Wufei offered, voice bland. "I'm still not entirely sure that it won't happen."

Anne laughed. "Well, he doesn't use it very often for probably exactly that reason. Giancarlo Mangia, Chang Wufei. Wufei, this is Giancarlo."

"Nice to meet you," Giancarlo offered, and held up two bottles of wine. "They'll tell us horrifying stories, all three of them, so I thought you and I might need these."

"Oh, thank god. Have you heard about the ground squirrel?"

Giancarlo nodded. "Most unfortunately. Thrice."

"My stories aren't horrifying," Mariemaia protested, still watching him in a funny sly interesting way that made him wonder what Anne had said. 

"I've only set the smoke detector off..." Treize retrieved the food from the oven, and trailed off in way that indicated that he didn't _want_ to finish that sentence now that he'd done a count.

"More times than you can count," Anne teased him. "Honestly. We know you too well."

"In any case." Wufei took the wine gratefully. "Everything is ready, so..." It felt weird, inviting someone in when it wasn't his house.

"I replaced the battery," Treize admitted, organizing plates. "It was a ten year battery." Maybe he was overthinking it, because Treize seemed perfectly casual and was apparently a poor host, turning to look over his shoulder at them. "Who wants the rarest?"

"Me!" both Anne and Mariemaia said simultaneously, and Wufei nodded. He had rather expected that, actually.

"Okay..." He picked two steaks, plated them according to whatever rank he probably liked best in his head, and started to put steaks on a plate for everyone, moving around methodically which left Wufei to pour drinks.

Dinner, on the whole, went quite well. There were only a few instances of vague horror at the things that Anne and Mariemaia and Treize came up with, and Giancarlo hadn't been wrong. The wine certainly did make everything a great deal easier.

He could tell they all talked a lot; there wasn't the weird pauses and friction of newness, there wasn't artificiality or over politeness. Treize still struggled, now and then, but far less with them than he had with the cashier at the grocery store, where he'd been just about mute.

"And then," Anne told them, "he short-sheeted the lot of them. And just to be even more of a pain, he hid little pieces of fish from dinner in the most appallingly small spaces he could find. It was hilarious and horrible all at once."

Treize looked just on the edge of laughing, mouth quirking. "I regretted that part. We ended up with a mouse problem. Carnivorous mice."

Wufei took another sip of wine because honest to god. Carnivorous mice sounded horrible even if it happened to be quite precisely true. It didn't hurt that the wine was quite nice, either. "I've never been quite so glad to have had private tutors."

With a wave of his hand, Giancarlo leaned back in his chair. "That is precisely quite a good thing, every time they tell these stories, I wake up imagining their tales. I tell you. There will be giant mice in my dreams this night."

He did laugh, because Mariemaia was laughing and sounding absolutely charmed by the idea of _carnivorous mice._ "How did you find out they ate fish, Father?"

"Mice will eat anything," Wufei declared. "Did you know that someone actually considered importing them to the colonies? Something about the food chain and blah blah blah."

"How did you keep them _off_ the colonies?" Giancarlo asked, turning toward him a little. "Invasive species is an interesting legal part of international law, and I've seen the regulations. They're not always well enforced."

"Some colonies did better than others at it. L4 has some very strict regulations. L2 is eaten up with the damned things." Wufei shrugged.

Anne nodded. "It's true. It's one of the reasons they have so many issues with plague. L5 had pretty good control systems prior to your clans arrival, though, didn't they?"

Wufei nodded. "Oh, yes. And we had a scientific division assigned to pest control. They were actually quite good at it."

Treize was looking thoughtful, chewing through his vegetables and then seeming to think better of whatever had crossed his mind. "L1 battled them poorly on and off for years, and I believe they've finally eradicated them," Anne smiled. "Before they turned cannibal."

Mariemaia crunched on a spear of asparagus, looking thoughtful. "If we had them on L3, I never saw one."

"Earth, meanwhile, home of mice that will eat anything, regularly just gives up. For a while there last century, dormice were regularly available in markets." Treize nudged Wufei's leg under the table, looking thoughtful and amused.

Wufei thought that this conversation was sidling rapidly downhill. "Perhaps let's talk about something else," he suggested. "Before I decide to abandon all of you and go downstairs to avoid further discussion of mice."

"You live downstairs?" That caught Mariemaia's curiosity, as she ate another bite of asparagus.

"Yes." Wufei nodded. "It's less open than this, but also has higher ceilings. It's home."

"He also has better taste in decor," Treize admitted readily, and apparently amused by it from the slight curve of his mouth.

"May I see?" Mariemaia's gaze was bright.

"If you like. If not tonight, then later." He smiled at her. It was good to see her with the curiosity natural to a child and not the way she had been when he'd first gone to L3. So calm, so blank. There hadn't been anything... that he recognized as a child in her. She finished her milk and Treize got up without comment to get her a second glass, returning with an extra napkin for her; it was such a weirdly normal interaction, the kind of thing he'd seen thousands of times back home and yet had never pegged as fitting with the girl on L3.

And yet here she was now. It was nice to see, nice to know that she could be normal. Good that they'd created a world where she could be a little girl.

"Oh, thank you, Father. Yes, I would quite like to see it later." If she didn't fall asleep after supper, which Treize said happened as often as not.

He tucked her hair behind her ear -- it seemed to be perpetually at some weird growing out but not stage -- smiled, and sat back down. "Since mice have been banned, how did your last round of history tests go?"

That allowed the conversation to devolve into less fraught topics, thank god, and Mariemaia seemed to have developed a fascination with Egyptology. Wufei could fairly well imagine that Treize was already plotting a trip to the Valley of the Kings after this.

He imagined that along with being considered alive again came those important things like passports and visas. Wufei's own paperwork had been a bit fraught, but the Preventers had fixed it for him.

He wondered when was a good time of year to travel to Egypt.

Dinner wound down slowly; Treize tidied away the plates, and brought the cake box over to the table, mostly so Mariemaia could ogle it.

"What is it, what is it?" Excitement over cake was actually fairly cute. Wufei hadn't thought much about having children; he had known that they probably would eventually, but he'd had other things to worry over and then Meiran had died so he hadn't bothered contemplating it since. Still, objectively, he could find a child adorable, and there was no question that Mariemaia was.

Treize popped the tape keeping it closed with care, revealing a white cake covered in berries. "A single handed attempt to fund all bakeries."

Anne smiled. "That is a thing of beauty."

Yes. yes, it was. It very much was, and Wufei's mouth was watering. Possibly he'd ask Treize to feed him cake tomorrow afternoon. Blood sugar maintenance was always important.

"Why can't we have cake at home more often?"

"Cake is something special; you should save it to mark special occasions." There was a pause as Treize started to cut slices.

"Don't listen to him," Wufei murmured to her, sotto voce. "Cake is for all celebrations. Cake is for breakfast if you're celebrating hard enough." 

Giancarlo laughed. "Ahhh, I must agree with you, friend. Cake is for many sorts of celebrations." And the way he was eyeing Anne implied maybe they should offer to send some home with them.

He was trying very hard not to think of his boss naked, for a second time that night. Or his boss's boyfriend naked. Or maybe he could just give in. "Cake is because its good to see you again."

Mariemaia smiled up at him. "I was sad without you while you were gone, Father. This is much better."

She very likely got herself a larger piece of cake for that, but Treize's smile was broad and bright and easy. "It is."

"Excuse me a moment," Wufei murmured, pushing back his chair. "I'll fetch dessert plates."

"We've definitely eaten off of napkins," Giancarlo laughed, leaning back in his chair, all grins.

"I'm fairly certain I've eaten the remains of cake with my fingers once," Anne added. brows raised. "I can't say it was a particularly good day."

"That can go both ways," Treize offered, noncommittal as Wufei brought the plates to him.

Wufei agreed with that. He was fairly certain that Mu Tsu had licked cream out of Meiran's navel once. And that was the least of that weekend's fun. "Hm, yes. I expect so. Either way, we have cake here and now."

"And plates, to assure you that it's a normal occasion," Giancarlo agreed, and Treize laughed while he served it up. Mariemaia maybe didn't get all the jokes, but she was happy that her adults were happy.

All things considered, Wufei had to admit that it made him happy, too, as they settled in with slabs of cake and began to eat. He relaxed, enjoying the chatter, the feeling of Treize leaning a leg against his, the marscapone of the frosting.

There were definitely worse places to be.


End file.
